But will the residents agree?

September 4, 2012

Radioactive waste site proposed for Tochigi

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120904a5.html 

Kyodo

The central government proposed building a permanent radioactive waste site Monday in Tochigi Prefecture to store the sludge accumulating from the nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture, drawing immediate opposition from residents near the site.

The 4-hectare site is situated in a national forest under the jurisdiction of the city of Yaita. It was proposed by Vice Environment Minister Katsuhiko Yokomitsu during a meeting with Tochigi Gov. Tomikazu Fukuda in Utsunomiya.

The governor asked the central government to get Yaita's consent and provide a full explanation. But Yaita Mayor Tadao Endo, who heard the proposal at a separate meeting with Yokomitsu, rejected the proposal.

The Environment Ministry plans to hold six months of briefings for local residents from October and start bringing in the waste to Tochigi around summer 2014.

The prefectures of Miyagi, Ibaraki and Chiba also will be targeted to host specific waste disposal sites this month.

There were an estimated 4,445 tons of highly radioactive waste, including cesium-laden mud and ash radiating more than 8,000 becquerels per kilogram, designated for disposal in Tochigi Prefecture as of Aug. 3. the waste is eventually expected to exceed 9,000 tons.

Among the nine prefectures where radioactive waste has been sent due to the Fukushima No. 1 crisis, Tochigi is the first to be targeted for hosting a specific disposal site. The eight others are Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba and Tokyo.

The government wants each of the nine prefectures to dispose their designated allotments of the waste on their own turf.

In addition to Tochigi, the prefectures of Miyagi, Ibaraki, Chiba also have agreed to build disposal facilities if they can get approval from the proposed host communities. These three prefectures will be asked to host specific waste disposal sites this month.