2021 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
American Hibakusha: Radiation Affected Communities Inside of the United States of America
| Project/Area Number |
20H01228
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| Research Institution | Hiroshima City University |
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Principal Investigator |
ジェイコブズ ロバート 広島市立大学, 付置研究所, 教授 (60423969)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
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| Keywords | hibakusha / global hibakusha / nuclear test / nucelar accident / nuclear production / radiation / American hibakusha / Manhattan Project |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
I was able to conduct two research trips during this academic year to conduct research and to meet with scholars. The first research trip was to the United States. I visited to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. I also visited to a uranium mining site, and the conducted research at the National Uranium Mining Museum. I conducted research at the National Nuclear Science Museum, and also met with scholars at local universities in the Southwest. I visited sites designated for the storage of high-level nuclear waste, and did oral history interviews with those living in the areas near the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in the Northwest United States.
I conducted a second trip to meet with important scholars in Europe. I met with scholars working on the role of water use in nuclear technologies, about the role of water in nuclear reactor operation and nuclear weapon production. I met with scholars who have created advanced computer modeling programs to use nuclear weapon test detonations and local weather data to create more accurate understandings of downwind distribution of radioactive fallout following nuclear explosions, and also researchers who have done work assessing the health impacts of ongoing exposures to low levels of external radiation, as experienced near uranium mining and in downwind communities.
I also conducted ongoing analysis of scientific studies on the distribution and migration of radiation in contaminated areas, and created a database of my own use on contaminations in the United States, and likely ongoing distributions.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
My research finally was able to advance after the inability to travel or visit archives after the COVID pandemic limited travel and closed archives. However, some restrictions to accessing archives remained early in the year. This limited my research capacity, but at the same time, I was finally able to begin field work. Given these limitations, I had to redesign the sequence of my research plan. So some of the initial research I had intended to conduct has been delayed, and some of the more site specific fieldwork moved forward. This has altered my methodology, but should be resolved as all limitations later eased up.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
This year I plan to conduct two research trips to the United States to advance my research. The first trip will include over a week at the National Archives of the United States in Washington DC, which is now full accessible again. I will also conduct research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. I will conduct additional research at the Hanford site in the Northwest, and meet with scholars at several universities. My second trip will include research at the Argonne National Laboratory, the Westlake nuclear waste dump, the site of the Santa Susana meltdown and the Nevada Test Site. At all of these sites I will both gather documents at archives, and conduct oral history interviews with local residents and former employees.
I will continue to build my research library and advance my database on the nature of environmental migration of fallout radionuclides after they deposit in the ecosystem, and consult with experts via Zoom.
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