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Gov't to lift evacuation order for Fukushima town in August

21 Comments

The government plans to lift the evacuation order for the Fukushima town of Naraha in early August following the completion of decontamination work.

About 7,400 residents had to leave the town, which is 12 kilometers from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, after the March 11, 2011 disaster.

Economy and industry state minister Yosuke Takagi said that the area has become stabilized and is now deemed safe, with radiation levels having fallen to 0.3 microsievert per hour, Fuji TV reported.

The decision will become official after government representatives meet with displaced Naraha residents over the next 12 days.

Local media quoted one resident as saying, "Our homes and are lives are anything but 'stabilized.' We feel the announcement of the evacuation lift is premature and does not address these issues."

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21 Comments
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Stabilized? So a continuous leak of highly radioactive water and melted fuel rods that can't be touched, are considered stable by the government.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Can they take a stroll in the woods, or do they have to stay in town confined?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

12 kilometers away. I don't think I will be visiting anytime within the next 100 years. 12 kilometers?!?!?!?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Economy and industry state minister Yosuke Takagi said that the area has become stabilized and is now deemed safe

The residents are naturally hesitant to return. Like with the BSE beef, when politicians ate hamburgers and gleefully fed them to their grandchildren for the TV cameras, let the politicians reassure the residents and show it's safe by moving there with their own families, before they go expecting others to live on contaminated land.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Cleo exactly! let the politicians live there!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

"Local media quoted one resident as saying, “Our homes and are lives are anything but ‘stabilized.’ We feel the announcement of the evacuation lift is premature and does not address these issues.”"

Exactly! The government meeting to speak with local residents is to TELL them what to do, not to get feedback or to give them support, and threaten them by saying if they do not return to their unsafe, unsanitary, and completely unsupported areas it is their choice but that they will have to pay for temporary accomodations and receieve no more assistance. That's all this is about: saving money for the government and TEPCO.

If Takagi is serious about it being stable and safe, let him be the first to live there -- not for a week, but permanently or until he is done his current job.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

For more levels of Naraha and the aera (independent of the government measurements) have a look at http://safecast.org/tilemap/?y=37.2826&x=140.9852&z=14

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@zichi

The government aim seems to be based on lifting the evacuation orders to reduce the amounts of compensation payments.

This is likely one aim. Another aim of the nuclear village is to try to prove that nuclear power plants are not that dangerous and life around them can be normalized, so there is no reason not to restart other plants or even build new ones.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Local media quoted one resident as saying, “Our homes and are lives are anything but ‘stabilized.’ We feel the announcement of the evacuation lift is premature and does not address these issues.”

and of course, we all believe "everything is under control"... Personally, with all the lies, I certainly wouldn't want to risk living there... On top of which, as zichi says :

Very few of the 7,400 will return if there are no public services like schools and hospitals.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Just a thought, but why not switch regular polluting (coal) and explosive polluting (nuclear) with water electrolysis-derived power plants? A couple hydroelectric plants near rivers can separate hydrogen from water, it can be compressed into tanks and used for clean power all over the country. Further, those hydrogen tanks can be used for vehicles too. Less dangerous than gasoline from what I hear, and clean, even if it explodes or has catastrophic failure.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I'm no meteorologist but wouldn't the radiation levels be lowest in July, August as the winds are coming from the south and In the winter, they come from the northwest?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I really don't know why they bothered. It won't matter. With the severe population decline in the countryside, these towns will all be deserted anyway in 20-30 years.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Stuart Hayward

Stabilized? So a continuous leak of highly radioactive water and melted fuel rods that can't be touched, are considered stable by the government.

Is Naraha Town located inside the port of Fukushima Daiichi?

Jumin Rhee

Just a thought, but why not switch regular polluting (coal) and explosive polluting (nuclear) with water electrolysis-derived power plants? A couple hydroelectric plants near rivers can separate hydrogen from water, it can be compressed into tanks and used for clean power all over the country. Further, those hydrogen tanks can be used for vehicles too. Less dangerous than gasoline from what I hear, and clean, even if it explodes or has catastrophic failure.

If river hydro plants were that easy and provided enough power they'd be all over the country. Hydrogen tanks are indeed less dangerous than petrol, but the hydrogen production plants are another matter.

Zichi,

Even if the former residents return it will take decades to try and restore what existed before. The life can never be the same and some fear will always remain until the day comes when the nuclear ground zero no longer exists but none of us will ever see that day.

Well, the life that existed before was subsidized by the power company. Without that they face the same fate of most of Tohoku - emptying villages, towns, and cities.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Star-vikingJUN. 19, 2015 - 12:29PM JST Stuart Hayward

Stabilized? So a continuous leak of highly radioactive water and melted fuel rods that can't be touched, are considered stable by the government.

Is Naraha Town located inside the port of Fukushima Daiichi?

<Your reply does not address my comment what so ever! "Stabilized?" Please explan how melted fuel rods, that can't be touch by man or machine, is considered stable? Or the continuos, flowing leak of highly radioactive water, is considered stable?

As for your deflecting question, no, Naraha isn't inside the port of Fukushima, but what happens if there is an accident while trying to remove these melted fuel rods? Do you think it would be safe being within 12 kilometers of of ground zero?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Stuart Hayward,

As for your deflecting question, no, Naraha isn't inside the port of Fukushima, but what happens if there is an accident while trying to remove these melted fuel rods? Do you think it would be safe being within 12 kilometers of of ground zero?

Ground Zero? Do you thnk there would be a nuclear explosion?

Zichi,

Many of the nuclear evacuees have expressed regrets over agreeing to have atomic power plants.

And if the hadn't had them they'd be complaining about their town dying anyway.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Zichi,

I'm not bitter about the nuclear evacuees. I'm just pointing out, that with or without Daiichi their town would be dying.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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