nuclear-news

Fukushima: five local governments anxious about radiation to residents

Fukushima municipality heads concerned over lifting of evacuation advisory, Mainichi Daily News, 26 Sept, FUKUSHIMA (Kyodo) — Heads of five municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture affected by the ongoing nuclear crisis have aired concerns over the government’s plan to lift its evacuation advisory in the event of an emergency, saying not enough has been done to ensure the safety of residents.

In recent interviews with Kyodo News, the chiefs of the five local governments said they were especially worried about the cleanup of radioactive substances released from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant and the disposal of radioactive waste.

The advisory covers the entire town of Hirono and parts of Naraha, the village of Kawauchi, and the cities of Tamura and Minamisoma, where roughly 59,000 residents have been told to be prepared to evacuate or remain indoors in the event of an emergency. About 25,000 have evacuated.

The areas are in a ring located 20-30 kilometers from the crisis-hit nuclear plant. Children, pregnant women and people who need medical support have been advised to evacuate, and schools and kindergartens there are closed based on the government advisory issued on April 22.

In August, the central government said it would lift the evacuation advisory in the near future, saying there is only a slight risk of cooling system failures at the nuclear plant and radiation exposure levels are very low in the area.

The government is set to lift the advisory by the end of September….

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110925p2g00m0dm018000c.html

September 26, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics