Collecting damaged materials and archiving the Fukushima nuclear disaster

The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident, caused by a Mw 9.0 earthquake and accompanying tsunami, triggered a discharge of radioactive materials and a mass evacuation of residents of Fukushima Prefecture. The evacuation is still ongoing and is eroding the local community. For posterity, it is necessary to archive memories and lessons from the affected area. To this day, the Fukushima prefectural government and Fukushima University are collecting damaged materials as part of efforts to build a nuclear hazard archive in Fukushima. The value and meaning of damaged materials and the aim of building a nuclear hazard archive are considered. Damaged materials are found to have investigative and educational value, and a nuclear hazard archive will provide a record of the region before and after the nuclear accident in Fukushima. (author)