Gov't to check safety of burying nuclear waste

August 11, 2013  

Govt. to review safety of nuclear waste disposal

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130812_03.html

Japan's industry ministry will ask a group of experts to reexamine the safety of its plan to bury highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.

Officials began selecting disposal sites in the year 2000. But there has been no progress amid public concerns about safety.

The plan calls for burying nuclear waste in a stable stratum more than 300 meters underground.

The plan's feasibility was based on a report compiled in 1999 by a government-affiliated organization.

The ministry will set up a working group of experts as early as September to reexamine the plan's safety for the first time in 14 years.
The ministry will ask academics to recommend experts with a neutral view. The experts will check whether an underground disposal facility will be able to store nuclear waste for a long period of time, even if earthquakes and crustal movements occur.

They will use knowledge learned from the March 2011 quake and nuclear disaster.