national

Fukushima decontamination insufficent: Greenpeace

19 Comments

Japan's efforts to decontaminate areas around Fukushima have been insufficient, pressure group Greenpeace says, as the government considers letting some residents return to homes near the crippled nuclear plant.

The environmental group said tests it had carried out inside the original 20-kilometer no-go zone around the plant showed that high levels of radiation remain.

Local and national officials are mulling lifting the exclusion order in parts of Tamura city, allowing people to return to homes they abandoned more than two and a half years ago. They cite lowered pollution levels in the wake of large cleaning operations.

A recent Greenpeace survey found that decontamination programs have been effective for houses and many parts of major routes in the city.

But some lesser-used public roads, large areas of farmland and mountain areas still have high contamination levels, said Jan Vande Putte, Greenpeace radiation protection adviser.

He said the cleaned houses and roads were like "islands" and "corridors" in an otherwise polluted region.

It would be "unrealistic" to ask residents to stay off contaminated roads and farmland, he said.

"They can be exposed to high levels of radiation" if they returned home, he said.

Decontamination "is a sticky problem. It is very difficult", he told a press briefing.

"It requires enormous dedication to reduce radiation levels on roads, on houses and farmland," he said.

But Vande Putte added that radiation levels around houses have been "significantly lowered" after decontamination work.

Residents should be given adequate information before deciding whether to return to their homes, he said, and government financial assistance should continue regardless of their decision on going back.

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated in the days and weeks after malfunctioning reactors, whose cooling systems had been incapacitated by the March 2011 tsunami, began emitting radiation.

Many are still unable to return to areas within 20 kilometers of the power station, where workers are grappling with the clean-up of the worst nuclear accident in a generation.

© (C) 2013 AFP

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

19 Comments
Login to comment

duh!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

just wondering, has greenpeace ever agreed with or supported any govt decisions?

-13 ( +2 / -15 )

No, no, Greenpeace.

You got it wrong.

Abe has it ALL under control.

He said so himself.

9 ( +12 / -3 )

In Fukushima, epidemic of neutropenia is occurring now. 3-4% of children have under 1500 neutrophils per microliter in Fukushima. http://www.pref.fukushima.jp/imu/kenkoukanri/250213siryou3.pdf

2 ( +4 / -2 )

The area is useless TEPCO should compensate (handsomely)these people. Shareholders are not the issue the delverstation these people have been through and continue to suffer entitles them to more than just the usual compensation. They have suffered through incompetence, false ignorance, barriers to a fair outcome and bullying. Through no fault of their own TEPCO has destroyed their communities, their lives and their families. TEPCO wants good publicity...then pay these people and support them. Might go a long way showing a careing attitude. After all it's Tax payers money and profit is or should not be the No1 issue at the moment.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

"Many are still unable to return to areas within 20 kilometers of the power station"

Still?! It's going to be a while yet.. A long while.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

David Tay,

Please don't confuse Greenpeace with Sea Shepherd.

The former does not compromise itself (by partnering with the private sector, for example).

However, Greenpeace does give credit where it is due, including in this article, which acknowledges that the clean up efforts in Fukushima have been effective in the narrow confines of those corridors treated.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

And in a few years when wind and rain erosion have blown the particles here and there isn't it a case of back to the beginning?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

"Greenpeace says..."

Oh yea, let's let a bunch of Tree Hugging, Granola Bar Eating, White Wine Drinking, College Yuppie-Hippies better known as "Greenpeace" dictate their leftest liberal trash-talking agenda to the Japanese. Uh, I think not.

The Japanese Government is handling the situation at Fukushima just FINE "Greenpeace".

Greenpeace, go do the world a favor by exterminating yourselves!! ...And dont forget to take along Seashepherd and PETA!

-15 ( +1 / -16 )

Once again, Greenpeace goes out on a limb and states the glaringly obvious. (rolls eyes)

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Greenpeace was the first to say not to let the children return to school because the top soil in the school playgrounds were contaminated. The government sent the kids back to school only to pull them back and then began to scrape all the top soil due to contamination.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

The pretense that the area was going to be cleaned up was unlikely fro the beginning, there s no possibility of that happening. The Russians were much more honest about their disaster by simply abandoning the area. Now whether the governments of the surrounding European governments were honest may be another matter.

So they clean up around a few areas where people live but all the surrounding land remains contaminated. So do you put up warning signs saying stay out of these areas And what happens during the next major storm when that contaminated run off from the surround land happens over and over again?It would save a lot of wear and tear on the former citizens of the area to just be honest and stop letting them hope that someday they may actually go back.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

"Greenpeace says..."

Oh yea, let's let a bunch of Tree Hugging, Granola Bar Eating, White Wine Drinking, College Yuppie-Hippies better known as "Greenpeace" dictate their leftest liberal trash-talking agenda to the Japanese. Uh, I think not.

The Japanese Government is handling the situation at Fukushima just FINE "Greenpeace".

Greenpeace, go do the world a favor by exterminating yourselves!! ...And dont forget to take along Seashepherd and PETA!

Whats your problem saketown? Some minorcomplex?

I would think more about tepco, abe and others who let japan and the sea around polluted daily while telling you EVERYTHING is under control! Wake up!

4 ( +6 / -2 )

I don't put a lot of stock in what Greenpeace says but, at the same time, there's been no effective way to clean up Chernobyl either. It seems to be very unlikely that anybody could really clean up all that contamination. And the idea that TEPCO could even properly clean a bathroom is laughable.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

gelendestrasse

I don't put a lot of stock in what Greenpeace says but, at the same time, there's been no effective way to clean up Chernobyl either.

True. Which makes you wonder why they have plans to build more reactors.

You would think that countries would pool their scientific resources and do everything they could to develop new and sustainable, environmentally friendly forms of energy production instead of wasting untold trillions in useless wars that accomplish nothing.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Instead, can someone with at least an ounce of accountability comment on this issue?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Why now, this statement of the blindingly obvious?

With some of their best members in a Russian slammer accused of numerous misdeeds, Greenpeace need to scrabble back some of the 'lost' moral high-ground in front of their world audience.

Hitting a scapegoat, perhaps?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A recent Greenpeace survey found that decontamination programs have been effective for houses and many parts of major routes in the city.

Reassuring to hear this. Not sure I would have believed it if TEPCO or the government had said it.

The Japanese Government is handling the situation at Fukushima just FINE "Greenpeace".

With respect.....WTF?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

It is better to be wise and stay out of the Area for at least 3 generations, then by that time better methods of reclaiming the nuclear material will have been found in stead of burring it or dumping in the ocean as an easy way out.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites