Colorado State to team up with Japan to study Fukushima nuclear accident

FORT COLLINS, Colo., March 5 (UPI) -- Colorado State University, in conjunction with Fukushima University in Japan, are funding a study of the effects of a nuclear accident in the Japanese city following a 2011 earthquake.

The two schools are combining to hire an authority on nuclear and radiation risks, CSU alumnus Thomas Hinton, to how radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident has affected wildlife and the environment.

"This is really groundbreaking," said Jac Nickoloff, head of the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences at CSU. "Tom Hinton is one of the most knowledgeable people in the world about this field. You couldn't find a better person to lead this project. There aren't many opportunities to study this sort of thing."

By funding Hinton's salary, it will provide CSU students access to the nuclear accident site for research.

"It will give us a really good link, and will give young scientists and students an amazing way to learn about the science from us. It's a cultural exchange as well as a scientific exchange," said Ward Whicker, one of the CSU researchers Hinton will be working with.

A post-earthquake explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant forced the evacuation of the surrounding region in March 2011.