Decontamination not so obvious

September 11, 2012

Japan finds decontaminating radiation challenging

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120911_03.html

Japan's central and local governments are still struggling to clean up radioactive contamination from the Fukushima nuclear accident.

The central government is responsible for the cleanup in 11 municipalities inside Fukushima prefecture. It is subsidizing decontamination in 104 municipalities outside the zone.

But the government has taken time to classify the zone according to levels of contamination, so the cleanup has been slow to start. Only Tamura City in the area has begun the process.

In the meantime, some municipal governments have begun preliminary surveys.

They have found roofs and walls in many houses badly damaged from the March 11th earthquake and aftershocks. That means high-pressure water sprays cannot be used in the decontamination.

Some residents are demanding that their houses be repaired first. But the central government has said no, slowing down the radioactive cleanup.

The decontamination plan has been completed in 70 percent of the 104 municipalities outside the evacuation zone. But 25 areas have yet to begin