Noda says gov't will quickly identify sites using contaminated crushed stone
TOKYO —
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Monday said the government will act quickly to identify the construction sites that used crushed stone contaminated with high levels of radiation.
Earlier this month, radioactive cesium was detected in a 3-story reinforced concrete condominium built in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima, last July. Officials say the cesium was detected in concrete made of stones that were left outside at a facility in Namie town within the 20-kilometer evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has said that radioactive crushed stone may have been used in the construction of up to 80 buildings in Fukushima Prefecture.
Speaking in an upper house question and answer session, Noda said the government will ensure that Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) compensate the residents of the affected apartment buildings, NHK reported.
During the session, a Japan Communist Party lawmaker also asked Noda about Saturday’s decision by the government to turn down Fukushima Prefecture’s request for free medical care for children aged 18 and under.
Noda replied that it would be difficult because of basic questions about the fairness of providing free health care to one prefecture, NHK reported. Fukushima Gov Yuhei Sato said Sunday that the prefecture will have to implement its own plan to fund free medical care for children.
Noda said that the government can best help the people of Fukushima by lowering radiation levels and providing health care programs.
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8 Comments
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2
marcelito
Yes we all have full confidence in their speedy response....the past 10 months gave us so many reasons to believe that, right? Speedy response and J- govt is incompatible in the same sentence. " Tepco will compensate the residents" - translation- us taxpayers will pay instead of Tepco - this has become the new normal. No free medical care for Fukushima kids because of " fairness"? What the $&!$&@...where is the fairness in them getting exposed to the bulk of Daiichi radiation and having to live with that for the rest of their lives? You can't pay for their free health care but you can spend billions on white elephant projects, useless amakudari oyajis and their obscene salaries, politician and public servants benefits, allowances, housing , taxi fares etc,European bailout funds, yen interventions, defense and nuclear energy budgets etc etc...but you can,t pay for the cost of Fukushima kids who might or might not develop health problems as a direct result of Tepco,s and J governments decades old negligence.. Where is the fairness in all this? J- politics is truly disgusting.
0
namabiru4me
Umm...something does not jive...
7
MaboDofuIsSpicy
Maybe he means quickly in geological times.
1
smithinjapan
It only took a few weeks to SAY they're going to come up with a speedy response, so I'm guessing some time within the next few decades they'll actually carry out what they said they would.
-1
herefornow
Took them 80 buildings to find out they might have a problem? Wow. That is idiotic even given the low standards by which the J-government is measured.
2
Riffraff
It boggles the mind that anyone would continue to use anything stored outdoors in the evacuation zone. These incidents just keep popping up... straw, rice, tea etc. At what point is using materials from the zone going to be banned? In this case I would say the construction company is criminally neglect for not testing the material.
3
Elvensilvan
While a lot of things are unravelling at once, Japan's government again shows the world how to react in a timely manner.
Personally, I'm quite tired waiting for the government to act on numerous urgent issues that plague the country.
0
Darren Brannan
And they will....? Nothing. It's like saying 'hey, you got Hep C or HIV from contaminated blood' and no redress.. Oh wait.. That already happened, didn't it? Sorry, your mansion is highly radioactive.. So.. Here are some rubber gloves and a high pressure hose. We are telling everyone to do this. 'does it work?' Umm.. According to the results we have given the public.. Yeah. There is the rub. They gonna demolish and reimburse? I think not.
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