Dr. Thomas Johnson

Professor - Health Physics, Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences at Colorado State University

Speaker

Over the last 20 years Dr. Johnson has performed extensive research and taught in diverse areas of radiation safety at Colorado State University including environmental, uranium mining and non-ionizing. He has authored or co-authored over 40 peer reviewed papers, three textbooks, one reference book, over 40 proceedings publications, mentored over 40 graduate students, and is responsible for teaching 5 graduate classes. He has been the principal investigator for multiple research projects funded by the Department of Defense, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, NIOSH, and other agencies.

Dr. Johnson’s work seeks to understand how contaminants move in the environment, the impact on biota, and humans. Currently, he is focused on examining the environmental impact of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation, the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor accident and coordinating student research in these areas. The evacuated area surrounding the Dai-ichi reactor has become overgrown with vegetation and wildlife in spite of the elevated background radiation level. Although we have seen an increase in biota, other, more subtle effects are not well understood. Further, the movement of contaminants in the environment have been modeled extensively, but these models have not been completely verified. This work directly applies to his other area of interest, uranium mining and its impact on the environment. Many of the models are similar, and the concerns regarding the impact on humans is the same.