In November 2013 the University of Bristol was visited by Hitachi. The afternoon saw discussions with a primary focus on challenges related to the clean-up of the Fukushima Dai Ichi power station rather than New Build. Bristol has started to draft some work packages for Hitachi in this area.
A team of NRC researchers led by Drs Tom Scott and David Richards went to Kyoto in January and will be returning in early May to provide an initial assessment of contamination areas around the Fukushima Dai Ichi site.
They aim to develop a better understanding of, and begin answering questions regarding the leaking of contamination in areas around Fukushima. The team also plan to utilise the award winning AARM system to identify and map localised radioactive hot zones. During their visit they will take samples of the soils and provide subsequent environmental-state and stability analysis of fallout particles in Bristol.
The University of Bristol also has a strong relationship with the University of Kyoto, which is of significant nuclear interest – Kyoto operate a 5 MW reactor, to which the Bristol-Oxford NRC have potential access. The NRC are committed to building on this relationship.