Miyagi Gov't agrees

 August 5, 2014

Miyagi Pref. agrees to gov't survey on disposal site for Fukushima radioactive waste

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140805p2a00m0na007000c.html 

SENDAI -- The Miyagi Prefectural Government is set to allow the national government to conduct a survey on three candidate sites in the prefecture for a final disposal facility for waste contaminated with radioactive substances emanating from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai will notify Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara of the decision possibly within this week.

The move represents a step forward toward conducting a survey as part of the Environment Ministry's efforts to select a site.

However, efforts to select a site are expected to pose a challenge to the central government as three municipalities hosting the candidate sites -- Kurihara, Taiwa and Kami -- have voiced opposition to building such a final disposal facility in their areas. Kami Mayor Hirofumi Inomata has refused to cooperate with the ministry survey, and even suggested that his town government will file a lawsuit demanding a ban on the national government from going ahead with the survey.

In a meeting on July 25, Ishihara asked Gov. Murai and the mayors of 35 cities, towns and villages in the prefecture to cooperate with the ministry in a survey to select a site for a final disposal facility for so-called "specially designated" waste. The environment minister designates waste containing certain levels of radioactive substances from the nuclear plant as such.

However, the mayors failed to reach a consensus during the meeting, and a final decision was left up to Gov. Murai.

In another meeting with the mayors on Aug. 4, Murai underscored the need to accept the Environment Ministry survey.

"A massive amount of specially designated waste is stored at various areas of the prefecture, and needs to be disposed of at an early date," Murai told the meeting. "To dispel the three municipalities' concerns, it's inevitable for us to accept a detailed survey." The governor then asked the mayors for their opinions on the issue.

In response, Kurihara Mayor Isamu Sato and Taiwa Mayor Hajimu Asano agreed to accept the survey with some conditions attached.

On the other hand, Kami Mayor Inomata noted that the candidate site in his town does not meet the standards for a site for a final disposal facility, such as the size of the land lot. He then called for a review of the national government's policy of disposing of waste contaminated with radioactive substances from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant within the prefecture where the waste has been generated.

Some mayors expressed support for Inomata's view, but a majority of the attendees insisted that local communities should accept the conducting of a survey while continuing discussions on the selection of a site.

Gov. Murai then declared that the prefectural government will give the green light to the national government survey.

After the conference, Mayor Inomata warned that local residents may resort to force to block any attempt by the central government to go ahead with the survey. "A survey shouldn't be conducted without local residents' understanding. If the national government is to forcibly start its survey, it would cause confusion," he told reporters.

In the survey, the Environment Ministry will drill the ground at the candidate sites to check the solidity of the strata and levels of groundwater infiltration. The ministry will hold a meeting of an experts' panel to examine the survey results and evaluate their safety before narrowing down the three sites to one.

August 05, 2014(Mainichi Japan)