The Noda Administration is aiming to remove all radioactive materials scattered from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant by the end of fiscal 2013, a timetable that gives evacuees some idea of when they can return home.
The Noda Administration is aiming to remove all radioactive materials scattered from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant by the end of fiscal 2013, a timetable that gives evacuees some idea of when they can return home.
It's the first time that the government has released a target for completion of the decontamination work, which would fall at the end of March 2014.
The goal, to be incorporated into the basic policies for decontamination and waste disposal, will be approved at a Cabinet meeting in the near future.
The basic policies will be worked out based on the special measures law to deal with radioactive contamination, which will take effect in January next year.
The policies will be discussed at an Environment Ministry's meeting of experts to be held on Oct. 11. After several meetings, they are expected to be adopted and then be approved by the Cabinet.
The basic policies mandate that the primary responsibility for the radioactive contamination lies with the Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the Fukushima No. 1 plant. However, they specify that the government will take decontamination measures as it is also responsible as a promoter of nuclear power.
The areas to be decontaminated by the government will be called "Josen Tokubetsu Chiiki" (Decontamination special areas).
In the areas, the government will decontaminate buildings, roads, farmlands, forests and other places by the end of fiscal 2013 and haul the contaminated soil and other materials to temporary storage yards. However, the deadline will not be applied to districts close to the Fukushima No. 1 plant where the radiation levels are especially high.
The basic policies do not define specifically the areas of the Josen Tokubetsu Chiiki. However, they will include zones where entry is currently restricted and those where the level of radiation resulting from the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant exceeds 20 millisieverts a year.
If the decontamination work progresses as scheduled by the basic policies and, as a result, the radiation levels drop, evacuees will be able to return to their homes.
However, the basic policies do not estimate how much radiation levels will decline after the decontamination work is completed.
In areas where the radiation levels are lower than those of the Josen Tokubetsu Chiiki but higher than one millisievert a year, the decontamination work will be conducted by municipal governments in principle. Those local governments will aim to halve the radiation levels within two years and lower them below one millisievert over the long term.
In the decontamination work, priorities will be locations used by children in their daily lives.
Meanwhile, the basic policies say that highly contaminated waste, such as sludge produced at water purifying plants or sewage disposal facilities, and ash from household garbage, will be, in principle, disposed of in prefectures where they were produced.
The intermediate storage facilities for contaminated soil and rubble will be also constructed in prefectures where much of the radioactive material originated. However, the construction of those facilities will be conducted under the responsibility of the central government.