Nuclear waste: Govt. has final say

May 19, 2014

Govt. decides final disposal of Fukushima waste

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140519_12.html 

Japan's government has decided that a state-owned company will be responsible for the disposal of contaminated soil and other radioactive waste outside Fukushima Prefecture.

The government plans to purchase land plots in Futaba and Okuma towns in Fukushima Prefecture in order to build interim storage facilities there.

The interim facilities will store soil and other waste from cleanup work in areas contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011.

But local people fear the facilities will become final disposal sites.

The government promised last month to stipulate legally that the final disposal must take place outside of Fukushima Prefecture.

Now it plans to revise a law so that the Japan Environmental Safety Corporation, or JESCO, can operate the interim facilities and execute final disposal outside of Fukushima Prefecture within 30 years. JESCO currently treats PCB waste in Japan.

The government will purchase the land where the interim facilities are to be built and compensate the property owners for moving expenses. It will also cover the costs of relocating family graves if property owners wish to move them.

Government officials say they will explain their plans to local residents at meetings from later this month through next month.