ID :
177470
Sat, 04/23/2011 - 18:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/177470
The shortlink copeid
41% of local gov'ts undecided on future of nuclear power plants
TOKYO (Kyodo) - Of 46 local governments hosting or located close to current and future nuclear power plants in Japan, 41 percent said they will await further public and government discussions before deciding on their stance toward the future of atomic power plants in their respective neighborhoods, a Kyodo News poll showed Saturday.
The number was slightly above the 37 percent of respondents who said they will allow the nuclear plants to continue to operate ''with conditions,'' showing that many are unsure about what position to take amid an ongoing nuclear crisis at the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and uncertainty about the central government's energy policy.
Only Minamisoma and Namie in Fukushima Prefecture, where a nuclear power plant is planned to be built straddling the two municipalities and whose residents must evacuate due to the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, said plants should ''be decommissioned immediately without any conditions.''
Work has been continuing to bring under control the plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., which was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The nuclear crisis has sparked concerns about food safety, and forced nearby residents to evacuate.
Kyodo News conducted the survey in mid-April, seeking responses from 14 prefectures and 41 cities, towns and villages either hosting or located near the 71 nuclear power plants in operation, under construction or being planned across Japan. It received answers from eight prefectures and 38 municipalities by its deadline.
On the future of nearby atomic power plants, none of the respondents picked the responses that they think the plants should continue to operate unconditionally, that they should be decommissioned within 10 years or that they should be decommissioned over the next few decades.
A combined 60 percent of the respondents said resuming operations of nuclear reactors being suspended due to trouble or those set to be suspended for regular check-ups should be postponed until normal to high degrees of operational safety is ensured, according to the survey.
In a question on what caused the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in which the respondents could choose multiple answers, 52 percent picked ''pure natural disaster,'' and another 52 percent said the power company ''lacked a sense of crisis,'' followed by 39 percent for ''a lack of monitoring by the central government.''
Only Niigata Prefecture, where Tokyo Electric's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant is located, cited ''a lack of monitoring by local governments'' as a reason.
About the government's setting the area within a 20-kilometer radius from the Fukushima plant as an evacuation zone and advice to residents within the 20- to 30-km radius ring to stay indoors, 43 percent said the criteria for the measures were not clear.
In addition, 39 percent said basing the decision only on distance from the plant is not right, 22 percent said it is not clear what the concept of ''staying indoors'' means and 13 percent thought the measure was appropriate.
The number was slightly above the 37 percent of respondents who said they will allow the nuclear plants to continue to operate ''with conditions,'' showing that many are unsure about what position to take amid an ongoing nuclear crisis at the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and uncertainty about the central government's energy policy.
Only Minamisoma and Namie in Fukushima Prefecture, where a nuclear power plant is planned to be built straddling the two municipalities and whose residents must evacuate due to the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, said plants should ''be decommissioned immediately without any conditions.''
Work has been continuing to bring under control the plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., which was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The nuclear crisis has sparked concerns about food safety, and forced nearby residents to evacuate.
Kyodo News conducted the survey in mid-April, seeking responses from 14 prefectures and 41 cities, towns and villages either hosting or located near the 71 nuclear power plants in operation, under construction or being planned across Japan. It received answers from eight prefectures and 38 municipalities by its deadline.
On the future of nearby atomic power plants, none of the respondents picked the responses that they think the plants should continue to operate unconditionally, that they should be decommissioned within 10 years or that they should be decommissioned over the next few decades.
A combined 60 percent of the respondents said resuming operations of nuclear reactors being suspended due to trouble or those set to be suspended for regular check-ups should be postponed until normal to high degrees of operational safety is ensured, according to the survey.
In a question on what caused the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in which the respondents could choose multiple answers, 52 percent picked ''pure natural disaster,'' and another 52 percent said the power company ''lacked a sense of crisis,'' followed by 39 percent for ''a lack of monitoring by the central government.''
Only Niigata Prefecture, where Tokyo Electric's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant is located, cited ''a lack of monitoring by local governments'' as a reason.
About the government's setting the area within a 20-kilometer radius from the Fukushima plant as an evacuation zone and advice to residents within the 20- to 30-km radius ring to stay indoors, 43 percent said the criteria for the measures were not clear.
In addition, 39 percent said basing the decision only on distance from the plant is not right, 22 percent said it is not clear what the concept of ''staying indoors'' means and 13 percent thought the measure was appropriate.
