FUKUSHIMA--Work to decontaminate areas around the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is, if nothing else, labor-intensive, painstaking and costly.
FUKUSHIMA--Work to decontaminate areas around the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is, if nothing else, labor-intensive, painstaking and costly.That much was evident Dec. 4 when the government allowed media representatives to observe a model project to remove radioactive materials.The project covers areas within the no-entry zone 20 kilometers from the facility operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and some surrounding areas.But accomplishing the goal may be a tall order for many local governments.Work to decontaminate the Okuma town office building--located about 5 kilometers from the nuclear plant--as well as adjacent areas, was among the projects showcased. Reporters entered the three-story, white-walled structure through a back door and were led up stairs to the rooftop. There, five workers wearing full-face masks and protective clothing were using high-pressure hoses to clean the concrete. The process involves the use of both hot and cold water.The workers start by dividing the floor into segments, each measuring 2 meters square. They use water at different temperatures to see what works best.Afterward, they sweep the floor, with both nylon and metal brushes. Again, a judgment is made about which system works best.The wash-off from the high-pressure hoses ends up in a filtration device on the loading platform of a truck in the parking lot. After the water is filtered to separate the radioactive particles, it is pumped back into the tank, also on the loading platform, so that it can be reused."Given the area involved, it is difficult to secure a huge volume of water in the no-entry zone. Our only choice is to reuse the water. An added benefit is that contaminated water does not flow into the drainage system," said an official of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), an independent administrative institution tasked by the government with the work.In front of the Okuma town office building, workers were collecting fallen leaves with bamboo rakes. Behind them, other workers were stripping ground moss with spades."Bamboo rakes and spades are a bit low-tech, aren't they?" I asked the JAEA official. The man replied: "Cesium attaches itself to soil and leaves. There is no easy method to do the job. Elbow grease really is the most efficient method."Prior to the decontamination works, the radiation level in the air stood at 20 microsieverts per hour. Afterward, the level dropped to six microsieverts, the official said.The government plans to establish decontamination "model projects" in one or two areas of each of the 12 municipalities. It wants to assess the most effective methods in highly contaminated areas, the volume of soil that must be disposed of and the methods to ensure the safety of those doing the work.The Cabinet Office is responsible for overseeing the project. The JAEA, which was entrusted by the Cabinet Office with the job, has farmed out the actual work to leading construction companies.Implementation of the work got off behind schedule, due to the time it took to obtain the consent from residents. So far, work has started in only Okuma and the village of Katsurao. After the special measures law to deal with the contamination by radioactive materials takes effect in January, the government plans to start full-fledged decontamination work in no-entry zones and areas where people were told to evacuate.Thus, any delays in the model projects could affect the outcome of the work to come."The key thing is to obtain the consent of residents. That way we can show the results to them early on. That should allow us to then start full-fledged decontamination works," said a government official in charge of the operation.The government had planned to start the work in late November for fear of delays due to frozen road surfaces and snowfalls.Except for Okuma and Katsurao, eight municipalities, including Namie town, are now measuring radiation levels in great detail as part of preparations for decontamination model projects.However, such work has yet to start in Minami-Soma city. The office of Futaba town, on which part of the Fukushima nuclear plant is located, has no plans to implement decontamination model projects there. The consent of residents is necessary to decide areas to be covered by the decontamination model projects as well as sites to temporarily store the contaminated soil produced by the projects.By late November, the Iitate village office had held explanatory meetings for residents on three occasions. Even so, it has yet to decide areas where contaminated soil can be temporarily stored.During the explanatory meetings, some residents asked the village officials to demonstrate the size of a typical temporary storage site and the volume of contaminated soil that would entail.Others wanted to know if it was possible for the government to purchase land that was contaminated without actually carrying out the decontamination work."With current decontamination technologies, the model projects only transfer radioactive materials to different places, and, therefore, do not lead to removal of those materials," said a Futaba official, explaining the town's decision not to authorize model decontamination work.As for full-fledged decontamination work scheduled for next year, the official said, "We will make a decision after seeing what other municipalities do."