FUKUSHIMA -- Distrust is hampering plans on all levels in the struggle to dispose of the mountains of radioactive soil piling up through decontamination efforts in Fukushima Prefecture.
FUKUSHIMA -- Distrust is hampering plans on all levels in the struggle to dispose of the mountains of radioactive soil piling up through decontamination efforts in Fukushima Prefecture.
Residents don't trust local authorities, and local officials are wary of the central government's plans, feeling they could become stuck with the contaminated soil in the long term if they accept the hazardous waste on a "temporary" basis.
The city of Date, Fukushima Prefecture, which is located more than 30 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, plans to set up temporary yards for large amounts of radioactive soil and waste from the decontamination efforts in the city, including residential districts and woodlands.
City officials have held about 30 meetings since late July to explain the temporary storage plans to residents. But they were unable to obtain an agreement until Sept. 13.
The only agreement came from nine residents of the Aiyoshi district, where residents were advised to evacuate after radiation levels higher than in the surrounding areas were detected.
"If we want to continue to live here, we may have no other choice but to accept a storage yard," Akiyoshi Takahashi, a 58-year-old farmer, said.
In the Watari residential district of Fukushima, the city government began transporting radioactive waste to an existing waste disposal facility. But strong opposition from residents forced city officials to suspend the decontamination work.
In August, the government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced plans to build a temporary storage facility for radioactive soil and waste in Fukushima Prefecture. Makeshift yards are supposed to store the radioactive soil and waste, such as leaves and rice straw, until the temporary storage facility is completed.
But virtually nothing has been decided on the temporary storage facility, such as when and where it will be built, how much radioactive materials it will store and for how long.
Several temporary storage facilities may be needed considering the growing volume of contaminated soil and waste.
"Residents are only beginning to accept makeshift yards reluctantly," said Takahiro Hanzawa, an official who leads the Date city government's decontamination efforts. "But the central government abruptly said it will build a temporary storage facility in Fukushima Prefecture. I feel depleted."
A common view held by municipal governments and the Fukushima prefectural government is that now is not the time to discuss a temporary storage facility or a final disposal site when they are struggling to set up even makeshift yards.
"Municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture and local governments suspect that waste with high radiation levels will be left at makeshift yards and the temporary storage facility for an extended period," a senior prefectural government official said.
The central government has said it will build a final disposal site outside Fukushima Prefecture to take over the radioactive soil and waste from the temporary storage facility.
But skepticism abounds about that scenario, too.
A lawmaker from Fukushima Prefecture compares the planned temporary storage facility to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which remains in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, despite a Japan-U.S. agreement to relocate it to Nago in the prefecture.
"Even if the government said it will build a final disposal site outside Fukushima Prefecture, we cannot believe it unless a concrete road map is presented," the lawmaker said.
A senior official at the Environment Ministry said radioactive soil and waste must be quickly isolated at makeshift yards to reduce health risks.
To set up makeshift yards, seepage-control sheets and minerals that absorb radioactive materials need to be laid on the ground first, according to government officials. The radioactive soil and waste is then covered by uncontaminated soil.
Keizo Ishii, a professor at Tohoku University who is involved in removing radioactive materials in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, said the first goal is to have workers become experienced in technologies to remove only the contaminated surface soil.
Many researchers are working on technologies to reduce the volume of soil to be stripped.
The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has developed technology to absorb cesium in soil with pigments. Tohoku University is studying a method to remove clay combined with cesium.
The long-term problem is how to deal with waste that has absorbed radioactive materials.
Some researchers have proposed that the radioactive soil be incinerated, but consent from residents must be obtained.
"Radioactive materials will remain somewhere for a long time," an Environment Ministry official said. "If the volume (of radioactive waste) is reduced, the concentration (of radioactive materials) will increase. The associated risk will also increase, making it difficult to handle (the waste)."
Tatsuhiko Kodama, a University of Tokyo professor who has been removing radioactive materials in Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, said the Environment Ministry does not have the know-how on how to decontaminate the affected areas.
"A third-party committee of private-sector experts must be set up to determine the scope of decontamination and standards for decontamination," he said at a bipartisan meeting on Sept. 14.