Japan’s ongoing experiences with radiation from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to Fukushima provide powerful examples of the importance of radiation governance. The tenth anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear reactor failure calls for reflection on past and future radiation governance, recognized as a transnational, transdisciplinary, and transgenerational challenge and responsibility.

The Envisioning Next Generation Radiation Governance Symposium held Mondays in March, 2021 will include an introductory lecture and four panel discussions exploring the archiving, regulation and education needed to support radiation governance in the future, in a wide array of places. One goal is to bring together people involved in different aspects of radiation governance, connecting efforts related to uranium mining and processing, weapons testing, nuclear power generation, food safety, radiation medicine, and so on. Another goal is to foreground diverse approaches to radiation governance stemming from diverse histories, foregrounding initiatives in Japan and the United States. Each panel will be a moderated discussion among differently situated experts, with time for questions from the audience.

This symposium extends from and supports the on-going work of the Radiation Governance Working Group in the Disaster STS Network. The Radiation Governance Working Group is building a transnational community-of-practice, body of research, and teaching materials focused on radiation governance. We investigate how those with different kinds of expertise about radiation (nuclear scientists and engineers, policy makers, affected community members, regulators, facility administrators, clinicians, social science researchers, educators, et al.) can construct among themselves ways of sharing their knowledge and working together to build effective governance.

We also want to help build new capacity for radiation governance through educational programming and inclusive networking.