Japan Cabinet to Discuss Disposal of Fukushima Soil; Government Plans to Expand Scope of Ministries Involved

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, December 5, 2024

The government plans to convene a meeting of all Cabinet ministers this month to discuss concrete measures for handling the soil removed from decontaminated sites related to the 2011 accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to government sources.

The final disposal outside Fukushima Prefecture of the soil is supposed to take place by 2045. Issues such as finding a place to accept the soil have been raised, so the government aims to speed up the process by working across ministry lines, the sources said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi will chair the upcoming meeting this month. It is expected to be attended by all Cabinet ministers, including the ministers of reconstruction; land, infrastructure, transport and tourism; internal affairs and communications; and agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

The government plans to expand the scope of the ministries and agencies involved in the management of the soil from the current limited number of organizations, including the Environment Ministry, and clarify its stance on tackling the problem from various angles.

The removed soil is the topsoil scraped from the ground during the decontamination work carried out in residential and agricultural areas after the nuclear accident at the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.

A total of about 13 million cubic meters of the soil, enough to fill 11 Tokyo Domes, has been transported to interim storage facilities set up in the towns of Okuma and Futaba in the prefecture, where the plant is located.

The law regulating issues related to interim storage facilities requires that the final disposal outside the prefecture be completed by 2045.

About 75% of the soil has a density of radioactive cesium of 8,000 becquerels or less per kilogram, and thus meets the standard for safe reuse.

The government is considering using soil with a radiation level of 8,000 becquerels or less in public works projects, such as a base for asphalt in road construction, after taking measures to prevent the radiation from spreading. It plans to finalize the disposal of the remaining soil in landfills and through other means.

The government has conducted feasibility tests to confirm safety in Fukushima Prefecture, such as harvesting cucumbers and daikon radishes in fields where the soil has been covered with normal soil and using it to raise the ground level.