Gov’t to designate new evacuation spots near Fukushima plant
Jun. 17, 2011
Japan has decided to designate new spots for possible evacuation near the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that are feared to have radiation levels which go beyond an internationally recommended benchmark, the top government spokesman said Thursday.
The policy on the areas dubbed as ''hot spots'' will cover specific households in a residential area, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference. Currently, the government in principle imposes an evacuation order on a municipality basis.
He said that while individuals can choose to evacuate or not, children and pregnant women especially are urged to leave the hot spots, which register radiation levels that could exceed the 20-millisieverts yardstick a year.
Residents in the spots, Edano said, will be warned about their situation and given support for evacuation if they wish to leave.
The benchmark of 20 millisieverts is based on a recommendation by the International Atomic Energy Agency that the annual limit of radiation level should be in the range of 20 to 100 millisieverts in an emergency.
Following the start of the nuclear crisis, the government has prohibited entry into a 20-kilometer radius of the Fukushima plant, which continues to emit radiation, and ordered the evacuation of people in designated areas outside the zone where radiation levels are feared to surpass the limit.
Aside from the areas, high levels of radiation have been detected in the hot spots where radioactive materials emitted by the Fukushima plant, which was crippled by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami, tend to concentrate due to geographical or weather conditions.
Based on the science ministry's recent monitoring, certain spots in the cities of Date and Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture could possibly register 20 millisieverts over the course of a year following the start of the nuclear crisis, Edano said.
After the ministry identifies the affected spots, it will first see if it can decontaminate them, but if not, designate them after discussions with municipalities concerned.
Residents will be informed about the effects of radiation and introduced to a new shelter for evacuation.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on June 16, 2011)
The policy on the areas dubbed as ''hot spots'' will cover specific households in a residential area, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference. Currently, the government in principle imposes an evacuation order on a municipality basis.
He said that while individuals can choose to evacuate or not, children and pregnant women especially are urged to leave the hot spots, which register radiation levels that could exceed the 20-millisieverts yardstick a year.
Residents in the spots, Edano said, will be warned about their situation and given support for evacuation if they wish to leave.
The benchmark of 20 millisieverts is based on a recommendation by the International Atomic Energy Agency that the annual limit of radiation level should be in the range of 20 to 100 millisieverts in an emergency.
Following the start of the nuclear crisis, the government has prohibited entry into a 20-kilometer radius of the Fukushima plant, which continues to emit radiation, and ordered the evacuation of people in designated areas outside the zone where radiation levels are feared to surpass the limit.
Aside from the areas, high levels of radiation have been detected in the hot spots where radioactive materials emitted by the Fukushima plant, which was crippled by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami, tend to concentrate due to geographical or weather conditions.
Based on the science ministry's recent monitoring, certain spots in the cities of Date and Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture could possibly register 20 millisieverts over the course of a year following the start of the nuclear crisis, Edano said.
After the ministry identifies the affected spots, it will first see if it can decontaminate them, but if not, designate them after discussions with municipalities concerned.
Residents will be informed about the effects of radiation and introduced to a new shelter for evacuation.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on June 16, 2011)
