Nuclear Waste Management Body Issues Draft Report on Final Disposal Site; Suttsu, Kamoenai in Hokkaido Included

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, August 2, 2024

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NUMO) has released a draft report on its selection of a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants. The proposal states that two municipalities in Hokkaido Prefecture — Suttsu and Kamoeia — will be candidates for a “preliminary investigation.”

The draft, presented to an expert panel of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry on Thursday, is based on a “literature survey” conducted in the municipalities. The panel effectively approved the draft, and a final report will be sent to the governor of Hokkaido and the mayors of both municipalities in or after autumn.

The selection process will proceed to the next step — the preliminary investigation — if the two municipalities agree to the terms of the report. A 15-kilometer radius around Mt. Shakotan, located northeast of Kamoenai, will be excluded due to concerns about the effects of volcanic activity at the mountain.

There are three steps in the process for selecting a final disposal site. The first step is a survey of archival documentation and other materials, while the second step — the preliminary investigation — involves boring and other methods.

NUMO plans to hold briefing sessions inside and outside Hokkaido as it proceeds with arranging the preliminary investigation. However, such investigations require approval from local municipalities before they can be conducted, and Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki is opposed to the final disposal site *being in his prefecture*.

A literature survey also started in Genkai, Saga Prefecture, in June.