WHO participates in UNEP Seminar on Tohoku Tsunami Debris Management
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) held a seminar on the “Management of Debris Created by the Tohoku Tsunami” on 6 March at the UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) in Osaka.
The seminar featured video highlights of the experts mission to Tohoku and the presentation of the key findings of the group of international experts that visited the Tohoku region to study debris management post tsunami. The team was organized by UNEP in response to the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
WHO was represented by the WKC Director Alex Ross and technical officers Jaz Lapitan and Art Pesigan. The WHO team took special interest in the aspect of hazardous wastes in the debris and also the protection of the response workers, the debris handlers and the community from health hazards of the debris. In collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNEP will be releasing a video and a report containing key successful initiatives and technologies deployed in Japan for wider distribution internationally.