information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
3 Février 2015
February 3, 2015
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150203_20.html
Feb. 3, 2015 - Updated 09:08 UTC+1
Japan's government has begun building part of an intermediate storage facility for radioactive soil and other waste from decontamination in Fukushima Prefecture, where a nuclear disaster hit 4 years ago.
The government wants to build the facility in a 16-square-kilometer area straddling the towns of Futaba and Okuma, but has been facing difficulties in acquiring the land.
Workers on Tuesday began construction of 2 temporary stockyards with a total area of 20,000 square meters. They are to be used to temporarily store 20,000 cubic meters of soil and other waste before it goes to a main facility.
The yard sites are about 200 meters and one kilometer from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The government aims to begin transporting waste to them before March 11th, the 4th anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that led to the nuclear accident in 2011. The waste is currently stored at initial storage sites and individuals' yards across the prefecture.
But it remains unknown when the transport from these locations will be completed, as land negotiations with owners are still underway.
The intermediate storage facility is to be used to store 2.2 million cubic meters of radioactive waste for 30 years. The government plans to start building other parts of the facility in areas where agreements with owners have been obtained.
Environment Minister Yoshio Mochiduki said the government will have no choice but to ask Fukushima people to allow continued use of initial storage sites for the next several years.
Workers discuss planned interim facilities for contaminated soil in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, on Tuesday. | KYODO
Kyodo
Workers on Tuesday began building interim facilities near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to store contaminated soil and other waste gathered during cleanup work across Fukushima Prefecture.
The dump will cover around 16 sq. km and is located in the seaside towns of Okuma and Futaba. The complex will be able to hold around 30 million tons of soil and other waste such as radioactive ash. It will not receive waste generated from the plant itself.
Construction has been delayed due to the difficulty of obtaining agreement from municipalities and local residents. The central government had hoped to begin moving radioactive waste to the interim sites in January, but it now plans to begin doing so by March 11, which will be the fourth anniversary of the 2011 quake and tsunami.
The project will cost ¥1.1 trillion, which the central government will provide.
On Tuesday morning, work began on creating storage yards across about 2 hectares of land. But it remains unclear when the government will be able to start setting up other key storage buildings, an Environment Ministry official said.
The waste is to be permanently disposed of outside the prefecture within 30 years, which the prefectural government demanded as a condition of accepting the temporary facilities. Where it will be stored in the long term remains undecided.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Tuesday resumed decommissioning work at the Fukushima No. 1 complex after a two-week hiatus in the wake of two separate fatal accidents last month.
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150203p2g00m0dm030000c.html
FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Workers on Tuesday launched the construction of interim facilities near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to store contaminated soil and other waste collected during radiation cleanup activities within Fukushima Prefecture.
The storage facilities on around 16 square kilometers of land in the seaside towns of Okuma and Futaba are expected to be capable of storing 30 million tons of soil and other radioactive waste, such as burned ash. They are not for storing tainted waste generated within the crippled plant.
Construction work has been delayed due to difficulties in obtaining agreement from the local municipalities and residents. The government, which had hoped to begin moving radioactive waste to the interim storage sites in January, now plans to begin doing so by March 11, the fourth anniversary of the 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster that triggered the nuclear crisis.
The government plans to spend 1.1 trillion yen on the project.
On Tuesday morning, work began to prepare outside storage yards on some 2 hectares of land. But it remains unclear when the government will be able to start setting up other key storage buildings, an environment ministry official said.
The waste to be temporarily kept at the sites will be permanently disposed of outside the prefecture within 30 years, as requested by the prefectural government in accepting the facilities. But the issue of finding permanent disposal sites remains unresolved.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Tuesday resumed part of the decommissioning work at its Fukushima Daiichi complex after a two-week hiatus in the wake of two separate fatal accidents last month.
The company had suspended all of work at the site Jan. 21 to conduct safety checks following the deaths of two workers at the Daiichi and nearby Daini site.
February 03, 2015(Mainichi Japan)
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