FUKUSHIMA--The first package arrived at the Environment Ministry on Nov. 8, immediately drawing looks of bewilderment and concern, especially after the contents were revealed.
FUKUSHIMA--The first package arrived at the Environment Ministry on Nov. 8, immediately drawing looks of bewilderment and concern, especially after the contents were revealed.
Inside were a plastic bag filled with dirt and a typed letter that ended with the name of the sender and his address.
The package was from Fukushima city.
“This is soil I took from my garden,” the letter read. “I am giving this to the Environment Ministry, which is primarily responsible (for the radioactive contamination) and for storing waste.”
Tadashi Okudaira, a 63-year-old publisher, acknowledged in a recent interview with The Asahi Shimbun at his office in Fukushima that he was the one who sent the dirt. He also said he mailed other packages to the ministry and the headquarters of Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant that has spewed radioactive substances into the environment.
Okudaira said the reason behind his actions was printed in an article in the November issue of Seikei Tohoku, a monthly magazine that he publishes.
“Responsibility of radioactive contamination falls on the central government and Tokyo Electric Power Co.,” the article said. “In a gesture of protest, we are starting a campaign to give radioactive soil to the government and TEPCO.”
The article carried the mailing addresses of the Environment Ministry and TEPCO, saying, “If the packages increase to a certain amount, our sense of confusion and anxiety will get through.”
It is unclear how many packages were sent to the ministry or TEPCO.
But Okudaira said he believes the ministry and the utility are beginning to understand the urgency of decontaminating areas of Fukushima Prefecture.
After realizing the dirt was from Fukushima, ministry officials measured the radiation of the package and found the level at 0.6 microsievert per hour.
Three days later, the director of the ministry’s general affairs division received a report about the radiation and said, “That level is low, and it is often measured in the Kanto region.”
A deputy director of the division took the soil and disposed of it at an empty lot near his house in Saitama Prefecture on the morning of Nov. 13.
Three days later, another parcel, labeled “ash,” arrived at the ministry, and it was reported to Environment Minister Goshi Hosono, who had also been informed of the soil delivery.
Under Hosono’s instructions, two officials were sent to recover the box on Nov. 17.
The same day, Hosono held a news conference to report the deliveries of the packages from Fukushima. He also said the director of the general affairs division had been demoted for the slipshod handling of the Fukushima dirt.
Okudaira told The Asahi Shimbun that he sent the second package, which contained ash taken from his wooden stove at home.
“It was a pity that the director had to be penalized,” Okudaira said, adding he was surprised that Hosono held a televised news conference about the packages.
The publisher also said he mailed garden soil and “nameko” mushrooms, which had been measured at 900 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram, to TEPCO headquarters.
Asked if he felt any reservations about his actions, Okudaira said: “Of course, there is a problem. A receiver could be at risk of exposure if it is high-level radiation. However, we are being exposed to it every day.”
Decontamination work is being carried out in areas around the Fukushima plant, but the central government has had problems finding places to store the radioactive debris. Tons of soil and other waste have piled up in parts of Fukushima Prefecture, raising health concerns among nearby residents.
Okudaira said he assumes the central government has underestimated the current conditions in Fukushima.
“If we can get our message across that it is dangerous to leave (contaminated soil) as it is, our objective will be achieved,” Okudaira said.
TEPCO’s public relations department declined to comment on the soil and nameko mushrooms that Okudaira had mailed.
“We are sorry but we refrain from answering questions about individual postal matters,” an official said.
The Environment Ministry, meanwhile, has decided not to accept unidentified packages. A ministry official said another box labeled “Fukushima soil” had been rejected.
The ministry consulted police about the legality of sending radiation-contaminated soil through the mail, but was informed that such deliveries do not necessarily constitute criminal acts, the official said.
However, it can be a crime if repeated deliveries interfere with business operations, the official said.
The ministry is storing the soil sent by Okudaira.
“We are taking the message seriously that we should decontaminate the areas well,” a ministry official said.