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Jim Smith

Jim Smith

Professor of Environmental Science, University of Portsmouth
I am an expert in radioactive pollution of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, having worked on this since 1990. I have coordinated four multi-national projects on the environmental consequences of the Chernobyl accident and regularly work in the Chernobyl 30-km Exclusion Zone. I am lead author of a major book on the accident: Chernobyl: Catastrophe and Consequences and authored a key opinion piece in Nature in the wake of the Fukushima accident. I am a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Expert Group on the Chernobyl Cooling Pond, and have advised Fukushima Prefecture on the consequences of the 2011 accident. My and colleagues' research on the effects of wildlife at Chernobyl received worldwide media attention with the finding that wildlife is abundant in the abandoned areas around Chernobyl.

I am currently Professor of Environmental Science at Portsmouth University.

Decontaminating Fukushima: have the billions spent been worth it?

Oct 24, 2023 09:28 am UTC| Business Life

The Chernobyl and (to a lesser extent) Fukushima nuclear accidents contaminated large areas of land with low-level radioactivity. After both accidents, huge efforts were taken to decontaminate the affected areas. But a...

Fukushima to release contaminated water – an expert explains why this could be the best option

Jan 24, 2023 05:35 am UTC| Insights & Views

Over ten years ago, a tsunami triggered a disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on Japans east coast. After the accident, large amounts of radioactivity contaminated the ocean leading to the imposition of a...

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Economy

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Politics

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Science

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Technology

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Samsung Workers Approve Wage Deal, Avoiding Major Strike and Boosting Chip Supply Confidence

Samsung Electronics workers have approved a new wage agreement, preventing a large-scale strike that could have disrupted global semiconductor supplies and impacted South Koreas economy. The deal was supported by nearly...
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