nuclear-news

Nine years since nuclear disaster, Fukushima looks to hydrogen as recovery efforts chug along,   https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/nine-years-since-nuclear-disaster-fukushima-looks-to-hydrogen-as-recovery-efforts11 Mar, 20 TOKYO – Fukushima is staking its future on renewable energy, taking the lead in a country that is not just squarely wedded to coal-fired power, but also reluctant to give up nuclear energy.This despite the anniversary on Wednesday (March 11) of the devastating triple tragedy nine years ago.

One of the world’s biggest renewable-based hydrogen power facilities was opened in Fukushima last Saturday, in the town of Namie that is home to just 1,100 people, or 5 per cent of the pre-disaster population.

Many municipalities in the hardest-hit coastal areas of north-east Japan remain ghost towns, despite exclusion orders being gradually lifted, as former residents do not return.

The full decommissioning of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is expected to continue until 2040 at best, while local fishermen despair over the increasing likelihood that water from the plant will be released into the Pacific Ocean.

Japanese experts say all radioactive particles, except harmless tritium, would have been removed in the treatment process.

Still, there are concerns that the move will further hurt a region already suffering from “toxic rumours” that have reduced demand for its produce despite stringent testing standards.

Much of Japan observed a minute of silence at 2.46pm on Wednesday as emotions remain raw, especially among those directly affected by the catastrophe.

It was the fateful time, down to the minute, when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered 14m-high monster waves that caused nuclear meltdowns in three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. It was one of the world’s worst nuclear tragedies.

Latest National Police Agency figures show a death toll of 15,899 people, with 2,529 missing. Another 3,739 people died owing to disaster-related causes, the Reconstruction Agency said.

As many as 470,000 people fled their homes at the peak of the nuclear disaster, but more than 47,000 still have not returned.

While many official memorial ceremonies were either scaled down or cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed that the government will continue providing “seamless support to rebuild the lives of victims”.

This involves not just physical infrastructure – including homes and retail businesses – to improve the living environment, but also support for new industries like that of renewables.

The initial plan was to abolish the Reconstruction Agency in March 2021.

But after 32 trillion yen (S$424.5 billion) was spent on rebuilding, the government decided to keep the organisation for another 10 years.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government and Fukushima Daiichi operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) continue to face civil lawsuits from Fukushima evacuees, although the sole criminal case arising from the disaster ended in a “not guilty” verdict last year.

There are about 30 such civil lawsuits throughout the country.

In the latest decision in favour of the plaintiffs, the Sapporo District Court on Tuesday ordered the government and Tepco to pay 52.9 million yen in damages to 89 people who evacuated to Hokkaido.

Another judgment, by the Sendai High Court, is expected on Thursday.

Still, Mr Abe has branded the upcoming Olympic Games as the “Reconstruction Olympics” to show the world how the region has recovered.

The Olympic torch relay, which will pass through all 47 of Japan’s prefectures, is set to flag off on March 26 from the J-Village soccer training facility.

It is just 20km from the nuclear plant and viewed as one of Fukushima’s key symbols of reconstruction.

But environment group Greenpeace Japan had flagged in a report on Monday that typhoons like Hagibis, which battered the region last year, had created new radiation hot spots in areas that were previously cleared by the authorities.

“It is vital to constantly monitor radiation levels and carry out decontamination work,” said Greenpeace representative Kazue Suzuki.

Its survey found 40 hot spots with radiation levels more than four times the government’s decontamination standard of 0.23 microsievert per hour, including one with 71 microsieverts per hour near the J-Village complex.

Long-term Fukushima residents, including Mr Nobuyoshi Ito, who lives in Iitate Village, have yielded similar results in grassroots surveys.

“Perhaps, for runners passing through, the exposure is not very high, but the situation is still not ideal for those who have returned and are exposed to the radiation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” the 76-year-old said.

“No matter how much money has been put into this, it is evident that full reconstruction or recovery back to how lives were before the disaster is not possible,” Mr Ito added. “That is the reality of a nuclear disaster.”