More shelters for infirmed and elderly in case of nuclear accident

 January 8, 2015

More shelter sites planned near nuclear plants

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

Jan. 8, 2015 - Updated 21:54 UTC+1

The Japanese government plans to create shelter facilities in wider areas around nuclear plants. These will be mainly for the infirmed and elderly in preparation for possible nuclear accidents.

During the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011, many inpatients and elderly people died after they were evacuated from hospitals or nursing homes. Evacuation proved too strenuous and their health deteriorated.

Guidelines were established after the accident for hospitals and nursing homes to upgrade building equipment. This would enable the elderly and infirmed to remain there during nuclear emergencies.

The government has been subsidizing facilities within 5 kilometers from nuclear plants for this purpose.

The Cabinet Office has decided to expand to a 10 kilometer radius after requests from municipalities near nuclear plants. It is allocating an extra budget of about 76 million dollars for the expansion.

From April 2012 until March 2014 the government granted about 260 million dollars to 149 facilities across the country. The funds were used for doubling windows and installing air ventilation filters to keep out radioactive substances.