Greenpeace conducts investigations into the radiological contamination of Fukushima prefecture as a result of the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. The focus in 2015 and 2016 has been on the contamination of the mountainous forests, river systems and the near-coast Pacific Ocean.

The Japanese government policy of decontamination is ineffective and limited, with most contamination in the forests of Fukushima, which cover 70% of the prefecture. As result of efforts so far, involving 50,000 workers, over 9 million cubic meters of nuclear waste has been produced in Fukushima alone, stored at 113,000 locations in the prefecture as of September 2015.

The Greenpeace report, “Radiation Reloaded: Ecological Impacts of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident 5 years later” released March 4th 2016, details the impacts already being seen with contamination in the forest and downstream through the river systems to coastal estuaries.