Japan to support use of non-destructive testing for disaster recovery in Asia and the Pacific (Chinese Edition)

In February 2017, Japan supported an IAEA initiative to use nuclear technology for the verification of the integrity of buildings following earthquakes and other natural disasters. The donation was channelled through the IAEA's Peaceful Uses Initiative. Following an earthquake or flood, critical civil structures, even when they remain standing, may have developed hidden flaws, which could pose further risks if not detected early and re mediated quickly. Industrial testing using nuclear technology involves the use of ionizing radiation — along with other methods — to test the quality of materials, without causing any damage to them or leaving any radioactive residue. Such non-destructive testing (NDT) was successfully used in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Nepal in April 2015 to test the integrity of critical buildings such as hospitals, schools and historical attractions.