Japan to ramp up search for disposal site for soil from Fukushima disaster
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Approximately 14.1 million cubic meters of removed soil and other waste have been placed at an interim storage facility near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
PHOTO: AFP
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TOKYO – Japan plans to step up its search for a final disposal site for soil removed during the clean-up after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the government said Aug 26, with selection of candidates targeted for around 2030.
A road map for the next five years compiled the same day at a Cabinet meeting also showed that the government eyes recycling the soil with radioactive cesium levels at 8,000 becquerels per kilogramme or below in public works, among other projects.
“We will steadily advance the process through all-government efforts,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at the meeting.
Approximately 14.1 million cubic meters of removed soil and other waste have been placed at an interim storage facility near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.
While the soil waste must be moved outside of Fukushima Prefecture by March 2045 by law, there has been little progress made in finding disposal sites.
The government plans to set up an expert panel at the Environment Ministry around the fall to study technical aspects of conditions and requirements for disposal site candidates, according to the plan. KYODO NEWS
