Research base in Fukushima

Dossier 10

October 21, 2012

Japan, IAEA plan joint project in Fukushima from 2013

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20121021p2a00m0na011000c.html

 Japan, IAEA working on Fukushima decontamination and disposal base

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121021x2.html

Kyodo

The International Atomic Energy Agency and the Japanese government plan to set up a long-term research base in Fukushima to study ways to decontaminate radiation-tainted areas and dispose of radioactive waste, government sources said Saturday.

Because of the massive fallout unleashed by Fukushima No. 1 core meltdowns following last year's massive earthquake and tsunami, vast areas of Fukushima Prefecture remain under evacuation. As of the beginning of the month, some 110,000 people were banned from their homes.

Through the multiyear project, the government aims to conduct field research it hopes will allow residents to return to the hot zone as soon as possible without endangering their health.

The IAEA is expected to dispatch researchers from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia who participated in the research and rebuilding efforts launched following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine, which was then a part of the former Soviet Union, the sources said.

At the ministerial conference on nuclear safety in Fukushima on Dec. 15, the two parties hope to see Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato and IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano sign an agreement for the project.

Fukushima initially called on the IAEA to open an office in the prefecture, but the nuclear watchdog was unable to secure the funding needed.

The Japanese government, with the cooperation of Fukushima Prefecture, is seeking to secure a facility stocked with the necessary equipment by January, the sources said.

The central government has allotted ¥930 million from the fiscal 2011 budget to conduct joint projects with the IAEA and is negotiating to use part of those funds for the research project.

On Aug. 31, Sato visited IAEA headquarters in Vienna to request the IAEA's help with decontamination and other efforts.