Government's plans for waste disposal

March 28, 2014

Government agrees to radioactive waste facilities in 2 Fukushima towns

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201403280045 

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

FUKUSHIMA--The government has agreed to the prefecture's request to build intermediate storage facilities for holding radioactive waste in just two towns, instead of the three originally proposed.

Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara and Reconstruction Minister Takumi Nemoto presented the revised plan to Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato at the prefectural government office on March 27.

“We, again, ask for your cooperation based on the new plan to consolidate the facilities in two towns,” Ishihara told Sato and representatives from eight municipalities located near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant that was crippled by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

The central government’s original plan, presented in December, called for building intermediate storage facilities in the towns of Okuma, Futaba and Naraha to handle waste generated by decontamination work in the prefecture.

The prefectural government asked Naraha to be excluded as a candidate site because residents from the town are expected to be allowed to return in the not-too-distant future.

According to the revised plan by the Environment Ministry, new facilities will only be built in Okuma and Futaba, which co-host the Fukushima No. 1 plant. Those facilities will take the waste that was to be stored in Naraha.

After the meeting with Ishihara and Nemoto, Sato told reporters that it is still premature to hold meetings to explain the plan to residents, something the government said it is planning.

Prefectural government officials said more discussions are needed on the grounds that the government’s replies to other prefectural requests were unsatisfactory.

Futaba Mayor Shiro Izawa, who was present at the meeting, was critical about regional development proposals from the government.

Even though the government said it will “take necessary fiscal measures” for regional development, it only said it will present concrete steps as soon as possible.

“We were looking forward to more concrete measures,” Izawa said. “But the government’s reply lacks specifics. That is not acceptable.”

March 28, 2014

Gov't seeks local approval of new decontamination waste storage plan

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140328p2g00m0dm041000c.html 

FUKUSHIMA (Kyodo) -- The government on Thursday sought the approval of Fukushima Prefecture to build facilities to store waste generated from radiation cleanup activities around the disaster-struck nuclear complex, after accepting some local requests to alter the plan.

The storage facilities are now expected to be located in the towns of Okuma and Futaba, the two municipalities hosting Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The government proposed in December a plan to acquire about 19 square kilometers of land inside the two towns as well as the town of Naraha for facilities to store soil and other waste containing over 100,000 becquerels per kilogram of radiation, generated through decontamination work in Fukushima Prefecture.

But Naraha, where the radiation level is lower than the two other towns, has refused to accept highly contaminated waste, saying it does not want to disrupt efforts to bring back evacuees to their homes.

As a result, the government decided to exclude Naraha from sites picked for waste storage.

The government, however, has said it will not change its plan to purchase the land needed for building the facilities, rejecting requests for facility construction on leased land.

March 28, 2014(Mainichi Japan)