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The Environment Ministry said Friday that storage of nuclear waste from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and surrounding areas in interim facilities has begun -- nearly four years after the disaster that devastated the Tohoku region.
The government is building storage units on an area of 16 square kilometers near the power plant between the towns of Futaba and Okuma. They will hold about 22 million cubic meters of contaminated soil and debris.
Nuclear waste will be stored there from March for an interim period of 30 years and then be moved to a permanent location, as yet undecided.
The radiation contaminated areas far and wide, rendering a swathe of Fukushima uninhabitable, perhaps for generations, and forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.
Tokyo's solution has been to try to scrub the radiation from the affected areas, often by lifting topsoil in the hope that contamination levels will go down.
This has left the thorny problem of what to do with all the waste, with no community in Japan prepared to accept its permanent storage.
The government's answer has been to seek a temporary fix while it works on getting a long-term plan in place.
While observers have long said the area around Fukushima is the only viable option, people already displaced have seen it as unacceptable because it would in effect finalise the abandonment of their communities.
© Japan Today
4 Comments
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nath
Those displaced should have already accepted "the abandonment of their communities" four years ago. What exactly are they trying to hold on to there?
Tahoochi
When I read the headline word "interim", I was thinking like 5 years? Who in their right mind considers 30 years as "interim"?? ...and of course, after 30 years, whoever is in charge will just say "Yeah, we're leaving it there temporarily for another 30 years"
bruinfan
In the scope of long term nuclear decay (for many isotopes), 30 years is "interim". For people this is long-term, however. I hope the people are fairly compensated (first by TEPCO until they have used up all cash, and then by the Japanese govt.)
liarsnfools
The storage plan is simply not feasible and is therefore a lie -- a big lie.
Moving 22 million cubic meters of nuclear waste is going to take years. Who will move it? What drivers or workers will want to do this? Who will monitor the sites? Who will ultimately pay? Who will take the responsibility? Why is there nobody from TEPCO in prison? When will the government ultimately admit to the Fukushima people affected that there will not be a restoration of their homes -- and then pay for it in toto?