The central government plans to start decontaminating hundreds of long-neglected reservoirs for agricultural use in Fukushima Prefecture that have shown unusually high radioactivity levels.
The central government plans to start decontaminating hundreds of long-neglected reservoirs for agricultural use in Fukushima Prefecture that have shown unusually high radioactivity levels.
“We have been discussing the issue with the agriculture and environment ministries since last fall, and I intend to conduct the decontamination of the reservoirs,” Takumi Nemoto, the minister in charge of post-disaster reconstruction, told reporters in Tokyo on March 9.
The state’s decontamination program has cleaned up towns and communities since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami triggered the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. But the program does not cover reservoirs in the prefecture.
However, cesium levels exceeding 8,000 becquerels per kilogram were detected in mud at the bottom of 576 agricultural reservoirs in the prefecture, including 14 sites with readings topping 100,000 becquerels per kg, according to a survey by Fukushima Prefecture and others.
Local municipal leaders have asked the central government for additional decontamination measures because some of those reservoirs are located within residential areas and are used to supply water to irrigate farmland.
Nemoto also said the state is considering extending its subsidy system to help local governments recover from the disaster. The subsidy program is scheduled to terminate at the end of fiscal 2015.