Gov't to mull allowing residents within 3 km of plant to visit home+

FUKUSHIMA, Japan, Aug. 6 Kyodo -
The government will consider the possibility of allowing residents within 3 kilometers of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to visit their homes temporarily, Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the nuclear crisis, said Saturday.
Hosono, while visiting Fukushima Prefecture for the sixth weekend in a row, told reporters that he made the remarks during his meeting with Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato at the prefectural government office in Fukushima city.
The government has ordered residents to evacuate areas within 20 km of the plant as it has been emitting radioactive substances since it was ravaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Although the state has organized temporary home visits for many of the residents to pick up personal belongings under controlled conditions, it has not allowed those within a 3 km radius and in areas where radiation levels are high to go home.
Hosono said he told Sato, ''With the safety of residents as the major premise, we have reached the stage where we must consider the possibility of temporary home visits (by residents within 3 km of the plant). We are well aware that the residents strongly request this.''
He said the government will think carefully about the procedures and timing of implementing such visits.
Hosono also explained to the governor the set of ideas for improving nuclear safety in Japan which he unveiled Friday, including a proposal to establish a new agency under either the Environment Ministry or the Cabinet Office and moving the functions of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, now under the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, to the body.
Sato asked that the central government put in place strict regulations on nuclear energy.
The current setup of the nuclear safety agency under the industry ministry has been criticized for lax supervision by the government of nuclear facilities and a slow response to the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima plant, triggered by the March disaster.
==Kyodo
2011-08-06 23:14:00