Interim facilities: Gov't must take residents' opinions seriously

June 3, 2014

Editorial: Consider Fukushima residents in plan for interim storage facilities

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20140603p2a00m0na001000c.html

The government has started holding briefing sessions for residents in the Fukushima Prefecture towns of Okuma and Futaba over the planned construction of interim storage facilities for contaminated soil emanating from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant disaster.

The government has hammered out more in-depth measures over the final disposal of radioactively contaminated waste and land purchases for those facilities. Because the facilities are indispensable for accelerating decontamination work and recovery efforts, it is hoped that the construction of those facilities will start at the earliest possible date.

However, residents who are pressed to accept such facilities have mixed sentiments over the plan.

The government is urged to take residents' opinions seriously and lay out concrete measures toward their livelihood rebuilding and regional development.

The interim storage facilities will accommodate up to around 25.5 million cubic meters -- or about 20 Tokyo Domes's worth -- of contaminated soil and waste generated from decontamination work in areas affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The government is seeking to begin putting part of the facilities to use in January next year.

Initially, the Fukushima Prefecture town of Naraha had also been among the candidate sites for the planned facilities, but after Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato demanded the size of the facilities be minimized, the central government narrowed down the candidate sites to Okuma and Futaba.

The two towns agreed to host the government's briefing sessions for residents over the construction plan but told the government that hosting the facilities is another story. Their biggest concern is that the interim storage facilities could ultimately be turned into final disposal sites.

The government plans to entrust the operation of the interim storage facilities to the government-owned Japan Environmental Safety Corp. after revising relevant laws -- in which the government will clearly state that contaminated waste will be permanently disposed of outside Fukushima Prefecture within 30 years.

That the government has presented a framework for legislating relevant measures merits credit. However, municipalities outside Fukushima Prefecture won't readily accept radioactive waste, either.

Such questions were raised by residents during the government's briefing sessions in Okuma and Futaba. The government is called upon to clearly demonstrate steps toward permanently disposing of radioactive waste outside Fukushima. At the same time, the government should promote technical development to reduce the volume of waste emanating from the decontamination work.

Most of the towns in Okuma and Futaba fall within the so-called "difficult-to-return zones," but during negotiations with local landowners the government will present compensation amounts calculated on the premise that the candidate sites for interim storage facilities will be put to use in the future. The government will also look into the possibility of establishing a lease contract between landowners and the government. Furthermore, the costs for relocating graves would also be compensated, in addition to the planned creation of a flexible grant system for regional development of Okuma and Futaba.

These measures represent the government's consideration for local residents' sentiments to a certain degree. However, at the briefing sessions some residents voiced concern that construction of the interim storage facilities could tear local communities apart. Because compensation for the land lots to be used as interim storage sites will be separate from reparations paid by Tokyo Electric Power Co.

(TEPCO), the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, there may arise a sense of unfairness among residents of Okuma and Futaba depending on whether their land lots fall within the candidate sites for the interim storage facilities.

Under the new grant system, tens of billions of yen is said to be forked out to Okuma and Futaba. The government envisages that the funds will be used in such projects as maintaining the bonding of pre-disaster communities. The government must collaborate with municipalities to prevent the funds from becoming a mere price for causing a nuisance and lead them to be utilized for the reconstruction and revival of local communities and for the bonding of residents. The Fukushima Prefectural Government's ability to coordinate the concerned parties will also be put to the test in their efforts to develop well-balanced regional promotion measures.

June 03, 2014(Mainichi Japan)

May 31, 2014

Fukushima residents wary of waste facilities

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140531_28.html

Residents of 2 towns in Fukushima Prefecture have expressed concern over a government plan to build intermediate facilities for radioactive soil and waste in their towns.

540 people from the towns of Futaba and Okuma gathered in the city of Iwaki on Saturday to hear a briefing by officials from the Environment Ministry.

The 2 towns are located close to the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The officials explained the ministry's plan to buy about 16 square kilometers of land from the towns to build storage facilities. Land prices will be calculated at levels just below the price before the 2011 nuclear accident.
The land in question is unusable because it is contaminated by radiation, but the ministry says it will assess its value as land that will become usable in the future after the evacuation advisory is lifted.

The officials said the government will enact legislation to guarantee that the final disposal of the waste will be completed outside Fukushima Prefecture within 30 years after storage begins. Some residents are worried that the short term storage facilities may be used permanently for final disposal of the waste.

The participants said they are anxious that they may not be able to continue farming once the storage facilities are built due to concerns about their agricultural products. They said they may lose their hometowns, or that people outside the towns may not accept final disposal sites, making it impossible to ever remove the waste from the towns.

The government aims to start transporting nuclear waste and soil to the planned facilities starting in January. It will hold similar sessions inside and outside of Fukushima Prefecture until June 15th to seek residents' understanding.

May 31, 2014 - Updated 13:24 UTC