A government panel plans to extend areas required to take precautions in the event of a nuclear accident, an expansion that would cover 135 municipalities and nearly 8 million people.
A government panel plans to extend areas required to take precautions in the event of a nuclear accident, an expansion that would cover 135 municipalities and nearly 8 million people.
Municipalities called for a wider zone following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Residents in the proposed Urgent Protective Action Planning Zone (UPZ)--within a 30-kilometer radius of a nuclear power plant--would be required to evacuate or stay indoors if radiation levels exceed a predetermined standard.
That radius is far larger than the 8 to 10 km for the current Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ), which covers 44 municipalities. The central and local governments decide on evacuation and other measures in the EPZ after forecasting diffusion of radioactive materials.
About 7.93 million people live in the UPZ, four times as many as about 2.05 million in the EPZ. Prefectural capitals, such as Mito, Fukui, Kyoto and Kagoshima, would be located in the UPZ.
The UPZ proposal was presented on Oct. 20 at a meeting of a working group of the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, which has been reviewing government guidelines on nuclear accidents.
The working group will compile an interim report in March. But the guidelines will not be revised at least for one year.
Electric power companies, which have 17 nuclear power plants in operation, are concerned about the proposed expansion because the number of municipalities calling for a nuclear safety agreement could increase, making it difficult to restart reactors currently shut down.
Many agreements include a provision that prohibits the utilities from restarting nuclear power plants without consent from the municipalities.
Municipalities called for expansion because areas within a 20-km radius of the Fukushima No. 1 plant--far wider than initially expected--became off-limits after the accident.
"What is most important is to ensure the safety of citizens," Mito Mayor Yasushi Takahashi said. "We expect the central and prefectural governments to establish solid guidelines."
The city of Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture, known for its high-quality rice, would fall almost entirely within the UPZ.
Ojiya Mayor Yasuo Yatsui said he is concerned that the designation might produce groundless rumors about radioactive contamination on agricultural produce and have a negative impact on companies' decisions to locate in the city.
It took a long time before authorities forecast damage and decided to evacuate residents after the accident started at the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
The government ordered evacuation 4.5 hours after Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the plant, said it became impossible to pump water into the No. 1 and 2 reactors.
The International Atomic Energy Agency had called on member states to decide on countermeasures based on actual radiation levels in 2002.
In 2006, a working group of the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan considered revising the guidelines in accordance with IAEA standards but concluded that a flexible response would be possible with the existing guidelines.
On Oct. 20, the working group proposed two other zones: the Precautionary Action Zone (PAZ) within a 5-kilometer radius of a nuclear power plant, and the Plume Protection Planning Zone (PPZ) within a 50-kilometer radius.
Residents in the PAZ would be required to evacuate unconditionally in the event of a grave accident.
In the PPZ, residents would be required to stay indoors, and iodine tablets would be prepared to prevent internal exposure.
Measures for the proposed zones would call for substantial government expenditures.
In the UPZ, radiation meters would have to be installed and operated, while other items, such as dosimeters and protective clothing, would need to be prepared.
For the PPZ, large amounts of iodine tablets would have to be purchased and distributed.