ID :
197677
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 16:07
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https://oananews.org//node/197677
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Land decontamination key to enabling evacuees to go home: Hosono+
TOKYO, July 27 Kyodo -
Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of handling the nuclear crisis, said Wednesday that decontamination of areas around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will be the key to deciding when evacuees can return home.
Hosono also said at a press conference in Tokyo that he is currently focusing on improving the working environment, as well as the medical and radiation management systems, for workers at the plant as they have contributed most to containing the nuclear crisis and need to be given priority treatment.
''After completing 'Step 2' we want to create an environment in which as many people as possible can return home,'' he said, referring to the second phase of work to bring the crisis under control. ''The key to doing so is decontamination work.''
The launch of full-fledged decontamination work is planned in the ''Step 2'' phase of an updated restoration road map the government's nuclear crisis taskforce announced earlier this month. A key goal of the second step is bringing the reactors at the plant to a ''cold shutdown'' by next January at the latest.
Removal of radioactive materials from a wide area around the plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is required to enable evacuated people to return home.
In Fukushima city's Watari district, decontamination work was conducted Sunday mainly for school roads, with city officials and about 400 workers as well as more than 3,000 residents participating.
While appreciating the residents' cooperation in decontamination work and seeking public help, Hosono said the government will handle the dangerous parts of decontamination work and offer financial support for complete decontamination.
He also said that the issue of workers' health is a major one facing the plant this summer. Their work that requires radiation-protective clothing is ''extremely tough'' and good risk management to prevent them suffering heat strokes in the hot weather is essential, he said.
As for Japan's energy policy, Hosono said, ''We need to review the nuclear power policy outline hereafter...although there is no change in the policy as of now.''
During the process, the nation's entire nuclear fuel policy, including issues related to nuclear fuel recycling facilities in Rokkasho village in Aomori Prefecture and the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, should be reviewed, he said.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has also implied that Japan's nuclear fuel cycle policy should be reviewed in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
==Kyodo
2011-07-27 21:13:22
Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of handling the nuclear crisis, said Wednesday that decontamination of areas around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will be the key to deciding when evacuees can return home.
Hosono also said at a press conference in Tokyo that he is currently focusing on improving the working environment, as well as the medical and radiation management systems, for workers at the plant as they have contributed most to containing the nuclear crisis and need to be given priority treatment.
''After completing 'Step 2' we want to create an environment in which as many people as possible can return home,'' he said, referring to the second phase of work to bring the crisis under control. ''The key to doing so is decontamination work.''
The launch of full-fledged decontamination work is planned in the ''Step 2'' phase of an updated restoration road map the government's nuclear crisis taskforce announced earlier this month. A key goal of the second step is bringing the reactors at the plant to a ''cold shutdown'' by next January at the latest.
Removal of radioactive materials from a wide area around the plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is required to enable evacuated people to return home.
In Fukushima city's Watari district, decontamination work was conducted Sunday mainly for school roads, with city officials and about 400 workers as well as more than 3,000 residents participating.
While appreciating the residents' cooperation in decontamination work and seeking public help, Hosono said the government will handle the dangerous parts of decontamination work and offer financial support for complete decontamination.
He also said that the issue of workers' health is a major one facing the plant this summer. Their work that requires radiation-protective clothing is ''extremely tough'' and good risk management to prevent them suffering heat strokes in the hot weather is essential, he said.
As for Japan's energy policy, Hosono said, ''We need to review the nuclear power policy outline hereafter...although there is no change in the policy as of now.''
During the process, the nation's entire nuclear fuel policy, including issues related to nuclear fuel recycling facilities in Rokkasho village in Aomori Prefecture and the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, should be reviewed, he said.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has also implied that Japan's nuclear fuel cycle policy should be reviewed in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
==Kyodo
2011-07-27 21:13:22
