nuclear-news

Eight ghost towns in Fukushima Prefecture

Futaba Mayor Katsutaka Idogawa, meanwhile, said it will be “years” before the residents of his town can return. …….

Eerie Hush Descends on Japan’s Nuclear Zone – WSJ.com, 19 April 11, “……..Over the road that runs through the town center, a white-and-blue sign proclaims: “Understanding Nuclear Power Correctly Will Lead to an Abundant Life.”But life, by and large, is what is absent in this town, just a few miles away from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Futaba, once home to 7,000 residents, is one of eight towns forced to evacuate the day after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami damaged the nuclear plant. In the following days, tens of thousands of residents living within 12 miles of the damaged reactors fled. Last Monday, the Japanese government expanded the mandatory evacuation zone to encompass more towns.

On Sunday, the nuclear complex’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said it aims to get the crippled plant under control with a so-called cold shutdown that brings down pressure and temperatures inside the reactors in six to nine months. Japan Trade Minister Banri Kaieda said some of the evacuees may be able to return after that but acknowledged it wouldn’t be possible for all of them to come back then.

Futaba Mayor Katsutaka Idogawa, meanwhile, said it will be “years” before the residents of his town can return. …….
Eerie Hush Descends on Japan’s Nuclear Zone – WSJ.com

April 18, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011