Tsunami and Environmental Pollution Hazards: A Note for the Restoration Process - Post-Tsunami Hazard: Reconstruction and Restoration - page 273

problems; less aggressive wood treatment construction methods such as the Shou
Sugi Ban have disappeared as result of the development of the chemical industry.
Ironically, this traditional method to preserve wood is highly regarded in stylish and
modern architecture (Guralnick 2013 ).
Enormous amounts of mixed debris, including treated wood and deposits resulted
from the 2011 tsunami destruction along Tohoku's coastline, requiring their removal
and further treatment to ensure a sound recovery process and to comply with the
reconstruction management cycle (JICA 2008 ). Concomitant to its accumulation,
removal and cleanup of contaminated debris, as well as its treatment and proper
handling should be enforced, while an assessment of the hazards to the environment
and human health should be undertaken as part of the disaster management policy.
Considering that a number of public works plan to recycle debris in projects such as
coastal and river embankments restoration, agricultural fi eld restoration, fi shing
port projects and disaster prevention forest restoration and parks (MOEJ 2013a , b ,
2014 ), comprehensive environmental and health risk assessment would have been
advisable prior to their implementation. Radiation may have further added to pollu-
tion problems in Miyagi and surrounding prefectures, complicating risk assess-
ments of impacts on the environment from non-radioactive components.
The costs of contamination are likely to be enormous, both economically and
environmentally. Exposure to radiation is more conspicuous in Fukushima prefec-
ture, while in Miyagi devastation of industrial complexes can be found in many
locations along its 850 km of Pacifi c coastline. The diffi culty in obtaining an accurate
estimate of the real environmental cost lies in the diffi culty of identifying and
measuring the effects of toxic and hazardous compounds from a variety of sources
including the impact of chemically-treated wood debris on key ecosystems, fauna,
fl ora and microorganisms, which in turn refl ects the impossibility to evaluate the
potential loss of ecosystem services unless thorough and comprehensive research
is undertaken.
The assessment of the levels of accumulation and impact in the soil, fauna and
fl ora, other debris and water bodies including groundwater is of upmost importance
as contaminated materials may be used for building purposes while chemically
tainted water sources for commercial, industrial or human consumption throughout
the reconstruction process. 4
Disasters like the Great East Pacifi c Earthquake and Tsunami of March, 2011
have brought tremendous economic and social losses, and unless accurate, compre-
hensive evaluations of environmental impacts of pollution and its costs in terms of
ecosystem services and resource impacts are brought to center-stage, any plan for
sound rebuilding and recovery is likely to fall far short of reality.
Acknowledgements The present work was possible thanks to the kind support of a number of
individuals and professionals. Special recognition is due to M. Nakayama, President and CEO of
Nakayama Industries in Shiga Prefecture; N. Kimura from Kyoto University, and K. Sakakibara in
4 Although available information was not found while preparing the present Chapter, studies on the
subject are likely to be ongoing by research institutions and the academia amongst others.