IWAKI, Fukushima Prefecture--Rubble, some of it potentially radioactive, continues to be a headache for municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture although the government has finally come up with standards to deal with it.
IWAKI, Fukushima Prefecture--Rubble, some of it potentially radioactive, continues to be a headache for municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture although the government has finally come up with standards to deal with it.
Rubble has piled up since May 2, when the Environment Ministry told municipalities in the Hamadori and Nakadori districts around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to suspend burning or burying rubble from the disaster site.
Sixty percent of the estimated 3.3 million tons of rubble in Fukushima Prefecture is believed to be in the Hamadori district along the Pacific coast, which includes the city of Iwaki.
A mountain of rubble rises 7 to 8 meters in the schoolyard of Toyoma Junior High School in the part of Iwaki that was devastated by the March 11 tsunami.
The first floor of the junior high school was damaged by the tsunami, and the schoolyard has been designated as a temporary storage space for rubble.
Four pieces of heavy equipment were mobilized June 23 to level the upper part of the "mountain" so that more rubble can be brought in.
An official of the Iwaki city government welcomed the Environment Ministry standards announced June 23 as a "major step forward."
The ministry told municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture that combustible rubble can be burned at a facility adequately equipped to treat exhaust gas.
Under ministry standards, ash from incinerated rubble can be buried if radioactivity levels are 8,000 becquerels or less per kilogram. If radioactivity levels exceed 8,000 becquerels, it should be stored until it is confirmed safe.
An Environment Ministry official said high concentrations of radioactivity are unlikely to be detected from ash if rubble is incinerated with ordinary waste.
But a city government official from Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, said the amount of rubble has overwhelmed its single incineration facility with a 40-ton-a-day capacity.
About 220,000 tons of rubble have already been generated in the city's coastal region between 30 and 50 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The city official said it will be difficult to temporarily store the rubble ash.
The city's disposal facility that can store ash will reach capacity in about 10 years even if it accommodates only household waste.
The official also said the landowner the city leases the disposal facility plot from is not expected to approve storage of ash contaminated with radioactive materials.
According to the Environment Ministry, rubble generated in Fukushima Prefecture should be burned or stored within the prefecture.
Ministry officials understandably believe that residents will be opposed if rubble is relocated outside the prefecture and that potential contamination with radioactivity could cause secondary damage.
"Some people are concerned even about rubble generated in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures," a senior ministry official said. "It will be difficult to bring rubble from Fukushima Prefecture to other prefectures for disposal."
The Environment Ministry also said rubble should be stored in a facility where radioactivity can be shielded if radioactivity levels exceed 100,000 becquerels per kilogram.
The ministry is considering a plan to set up a final disposal site near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Vice Environment Minister Hideki Minamikawa asked Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato to accept the plan on June 9.
But Sato refused because officials are concerned that anxiety will grow among residents if waste and ash contaminated with radioactivity are buried in the prefecture.
"We are wondering if (the government decided) radioactive rubble should be burned or stored in Fukushima Prefecture as a step toward setting up the final disposal site in Fukushima Prefecture," a senior prefectural official said.