In 2024, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Polimaster, Inc. and look back with pride at the pioneering spirit and innovative breakthroughs that have characterized our journey. Join us as we continue to explore and celebrate the milestones that have shaped our path.
Part 9. Illinois Governor donated 2,000 PM1703MO-1s to Japan following Tsunami
On March 11, 2011, a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the consequent tsunami in the Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, led to failures in three of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant's reactors. The tsunami flooded the emergency generators, causing a loss of power and disabling the cooling systems in the reactors. This led to core meltdowns in these reactors. Hydrogen gas buildup caused explosions in reactor buildings, releasing radioactive materials into the environment, prompting large-scale evacuations, and long-term environmental contamination.
In the first weeks after the accident, Polimaster shipped our radiation monitoring instruments to Japan as a charity. Additionally, Polimaster specialists offered their Japanese colleagues immediate help and shared our experience and expertise through holding numerous meetings and conferences on the subject in Japan.
After the accident at Fukushima, the demand for radiation monitoring instruments increased significantly. However, the component suppliers could not deliver the components fast enough to enable the manufacturers to satisfy this sudden demand. Polimaster came up with a solution that would be reasonable in this case by offering some clients to donate the devices from their warehouses to Japan and promising to replenish the client’s warehouses with new devices on favorable terms for the client in the near future.
One such case was the donation from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA).
In April 2011, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced a statewide initiative to utilize Illinois’ technological and agricultural resources to deliver essential supplies to the victims of this disaster, which led to IEMA donating 2,000 Polimaster PM1703MO-1 Personal Radiation Detectors to support the relief efforts [Source: illinois.gov]. The personal radiation detectors were part of Illinois' Preventive Radiological and Nuclear Detection (PRND) program.
These detectors are widely used by US law enforcement officers and firefighters to detect potentially hazardous radiological materials they may encounter while on duty. Since its launch in 2009, the PRND program has distributed thousands of detectors to more than 100 local law enforcement agencies and fire departments throughout the state [Source: illinois.gov].
The personal radiation detectors donation along with chargers, batteries, and heat covers, aided organizations such as Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency in their ongoing efforts to monitor and mitigate the impacts of the disaster.
Polimaster also supplied thousands of other radiation detection devices in the course of time to Japan and participated in various charity projects with its partners. Thus, our technology played a small but meaningful part in a larger act of solidarity and support from the people worldwide to our friends in Japan during their trying times.
As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Polimaster, Inc. in 2024, we reflect on a journey marked by pioneering innovations and strong partnerships. We look forward to continuing our commitment to excellence and advancing radiation detection technology. We thank all our partners and customers for playing a significant role in Polimaster’s story. Here is to future innovations and many more years of success!
Stay tuned for weekly updates if you are curious to learn what happens next in our exciting journey.
