TY - JOUR
T1 - Disaster waste characteristics and radiation distribution as a result of the great east Japan earthquake
AU - Shibata, Tomoyuki
AU - Solo-Gabriele, Helena
AU - Hata, Toshimitsu
PY - 2012/4/3
Y1 - 2012/4/3
N2 - The compounded impacts of the catastrophes that resulted from the Great East Japan Earthquake have emphasized the need to develop strategies to respond to multiple types and sources of contamination. In Japan, earthquake and tsunami-generated waste were found to have elevated levels of metals/metalloids (e.g., mercury, arsenic, and lead) with separation and sorting more difficult for tsunami-generated waste as opposed to earthquake-generated waste. Radiation contamination superimposed on these disaster wastes has made it particularly difficult to manage the ultimate disposal resulting in delays in waste management. Work is needed to develop policies a priori for handling wastes from combined catastrophes such as those recently observed in Japan.
AB - The compounded impacts of the catastrophes that resulted from the Great East Japan Earthquake have emphasized the need to develop strategies to respond to multiple types and sources of contamination. In Japan, earthquake and tsunami-generated waste were found to have elevated levels of metals/metalloids (e.g., mercury, arsenic, and lead) with separation and sorting more difficult for tsunami-generated waste as opposed to earthquake-generated waste. Radiation contamination superimposed on these disaster wastes has made it particularly difficult to manage the ultimate disposal resulting in delays in waste management. Work is needed to develop policies a priori for handling wastes from combined catastrophes such as those recently observed in Japan.
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U2 - 10.1021/es300055m
DO - 10.1021/es300055m
M3 - Article
C2 - 22397490
AN - SCOPUS:84859317050
VL - 46
SP - 3618
EP - 3624
JO - Environmental Science & Technology
JF - Environmental Science & Technology
SN - 0013-936X
IS - 7
ER -