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UNU signed a Cooperation Agreement with Shimadzu Corporation
25 November, 2008
On 25 November 2008 an agreement between UNU and Shimadzu Corporation was signed by UNU Rector Konrad Osterwalder and Shimadzu President Shigehiko Hattori.
Shimadzu Corporation is a manufacturer of precision instruments, measuring instruments and medical equipment and is based in Kyoto, Japan. The company was established by Genzo Shimadzu in 1875. In 2002 its longstanding employee Koichi Tanaka won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing a method of mass spectrometric analysis of biological macromolecules. Shimadzu is the worlds only producer of a "Direct-Conversion" Flat Panel Detector for Cardiac, Angiography and General Radiography examinations.
The agreement establishes a 5th phase of the project "Environmental Monitoring and Governance in the Asian Coastal Hydrosphere".
The project was established in 1996 and dealt with monitoring of various organic pollutants in the environment in ten participating countries in Asia using a quadruple type gas chromatograph with mass spectrometer. Shimadzu Corporation prepared the analytical procedures and quality control protocols that suit the capacities and resources of the institutes participating in the monitoring projects. The primary aim of the project was to strengthen environmental research and education capacities in Asian developing countries and create the scientific infrastructure necessary for environmental governance and pollution-monitoring in the region.
With generous support from Shimadzu Corporation, the 5th phase (2008-2011) will target the monitoring of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the environment. Classified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that are regulated under the Stockholm Convention, PCBs are toxic to human and ecological health.
For more information please visit the web pages of the UNU and UNU Environment and Sustainable Development
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Page last modified 2009.11.02.
