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Opening address delivered by Prof. S. Yamamoto, Vice-President of Okayama University
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Lecture given by Ms Irena Mele, Special Advisor of IAEA
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Lecture given by Prof. H. Matsui, Okayama University
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Enthusiastically-participating audience
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News

Symposium held on “The current and future state of radiation”

An international symposium entitled “The current and future state of radiation” was held at Walt Hall in Kagamino-cho, a northern town of Okayama Prefecture, and was jointly-hosted by Okayama University, Japan Atomic Energy Agency and Kagamino-cho. It should be noted that these three organizations reached a formal agreement of collaboration in February 2015. This symposium aimed to gather perspectives for the utilization of neutron radiation in cancer therapy, called the Boron-Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT), and the management of radioactive waste.

The vice-president, Professor S. Yamamoto, delivered the opening address, and talked about the implication of the symposium and the recent research topics in Okayama University.

Ms Irena Mele, special advisor in the department of Nuclear Energy at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), gave a lecture on principles and good practice for the safe and efficient management of radioactive waste. Mr A. Izumo, public information specialist at the department of Nuclear Energy, IAEA, discussed the importance of communication and stakeholders' involvement as a prerequisite for building public confidence in radioactive waste management.

Recently, BNCT has become a very attractive cancer therapy. The treatment works using a medical agent including a boron isotope (B-10) which is dosed to cancer cells before neutron radiation is applied, and the cancer cells are killed by fission rays (for example α-rays and Li-nucleus rays). Prof. H. Matsui from the Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, and Prof. J. Hiratsuka of Kawasaki Medical School (the president of the Japan Society of Neutron Capture Therapy), gave a clear perspective of the current state and the future scope of BNCT.

The audience were very engaged by the interesting talks and up-to-date information with respect to the future of radiation in medicine.

【Correspondence】
Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University
Prof. Yasuaki Ichikawa
TEL:+81-86-251-8853
e-mail:yiyi08@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp
http://www.gels.okayama-u.ac.jp/index_e.html