Sendai Facility
Katsumi MIDORIKAWA, Facility Head
Environmental policy of Sendai Facility
A cherry tree on the premises
Sendai was one of the pioneering municipalities to introduce environmental measures such as the sorting-at-source waste collection scheme or charging for the collection of garbage bags. At the Sendai Facility, we buy the specified garbage bags and sort our waste according to the regulations. In addition, as a voluntary effort, we commissioned a specialist waste management company to take care of other recyclable wastes.
As visitors to our site will notice, about a quarter of our boundary is marked by hedges, rather than inorganic materials such as metal or concrete.
We use solar-charged batteries for our exterior lights and have installed sensors in interior corridors so that the lights come on only when somebody approaches.
At the moment we are evaluating whether the application of insulation film on windows of research lab buildings could reduce energy required for air conditioning and heating (and if so we will go ahead with this action).
All these examples may represent a small contribution to improving the environment, but I think it is important to continue with these small steps.
Research and contribution to the environment
The Sendai Facility conducts a wide range of Terahertz-wave research from the development of THz-wave sources to detection, measurement and various other applications. ‘Research on the role of THz spectrum gas molecule absorption affecting the global environment’ is one such example.
The biggest contributor to the greenhouse gases is water vapor at about 60%. It is also known that the higher the water vapor pressure in the air, the more the air absorbs THz light. We think we can make a very significant discovery in estimating the earth’s heat budget by measuring THz light in the terrestrial radiation emitted into space.
The Sendai Facility developed state-of-the-art equipment that can measure gas absorption intensity in the realm of THz light. By using the data acquired from the equipment, more detailed calculations than ever before become possible and we are hoping to rewrite the traditional models of global warming.
RIKEN has a long history of studying photonics. By integrating our accumulated knowledge and collaborating with other disciplines, I think we can help to solve the environmental problems by utilizing, for example, photocatalytic reaction to break up air pollutants.
It goes without saying that science and technology can contribute to solving the environmental problems. I think it is very important that scientists solve the immediate problems one at a time using scientific and technological means. At the same time, it is also important for them to see the global environmental from a macroscopic viewpoint and think about what they can do about it.
After the Second World War, Dr. Shinichiro Tomonaga, a Nobel Prize laureate, advocated and organized an international conference to think globally about how to eliminate wars on the planet. To help solve the environmental problem, I hope a similar venue will be created where scientists and researchers, regardless of their organization or the boundaries that separate them, are able to meet and exchange opinions on what we can do globally, in addition to the efforts of individual scientists working in their areas of specialty.