Gov’t mulls reducing possible evacuation areas near Fukushima plant
Jul. 15, 2011
Japan is considering reducing the areas subject to possible evacuation near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Thursday.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan is planning to visit Fukushima Prefecture on Saturday to discuss the issue with local authorities, government officials said.
Edano, the top government spokesman, said at a news conference that the situation at the plant is unlikely to worsen rapidly after the first phase of the ongoing efforts to bring its overheating reactors under control is completed, which is expected by July 17 as scheduled.
''We're considering whether it's possible to reduce the areas and how to do that,'' Edano said.
In April, about 67,000 residents in a zone 20 to 30 kilometers from the plant, encompassing municipalities in the prefecture including Hirono and Naraha, became subject to a directive that requires them to be prepared to evacuate or stay indoors in an emergency in connection with the crisis.
Under the current plan, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the plant, would achieve a cold shutdown of the reactors during the three to six months after the first phase is cleared.
The power company and the government are scheduled to announce an updated version of the road map to end the crisis on next Tuesday in which they will explain steps to be taken during the next phase and beyond.
Government sources said the timing of reducing the areas is unlikely to be specified when the new road map is released.
Before scaling down the areas, the government needs to make sure that the amount of radiation in the air is small enough and find whether there exist any so-called ''hot spots,'' where radiation levels are sporadically higher than other locations nearby, the sources said.
The government needs more time to monitor radiation levels in the areas, the sources said.
On Saturday, Kan is slated to meet local authorities in the city of Koriyama after visiting the ''J Village,'' a soccer training center composed of more than 10 fields now used by people responsible for containing the crisis at the plant, triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Kan's trip to the prefecture will be accompanied by Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of nuclear accidents, according to the officials.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on July 14, 2011)
Prime Minister Naoto Kan is planning to visit Fukushima Prefecture on Saturday to discuss the issue with local authorities, government officials said.
Edano, the top government spokesman, said at a news conference that the situation at the plant is unlikely to worsen rapidly after the first phase of the ongoing efforts to bring its overheating reactors under control is completed, which is expected by July 17 as scheduled.
''We're considering whether it's possible to reduce the areas and how to do that,'' Edano said.
In April, about 67,000 residents in a zone 20 to 30 kilometers from the plant, encompassing municipalities in the prefecture including Hirono and Naraha, became subject to a directive that requires them to be prepared to evacuate or stay indoors in an emergency in connection with the crisis.
Under the current plan, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the plant, would achieve a cold shutdown of the reactors during the three to six months after the first phase is cleared.
The power company and the government are scheduled to announce an updated version of the road map to end the crisis on next Tuesday in which they will explain steps to be taken during the next phase and beyond.
Government sources said the timing of reducing the areas is unlikely to be specified when the new road map is released.
Before scaling down the areas, the government needs to make sure that the amount of radiation in the air is small enough and find whether there exist any so-called ''hot spots,'' where radiation levels are sporadically higher than other locations nearby, the sources said.
The government needs more time to monitor radiation levels in the areas, the sources said.
On Saturday, Kan is slated to meet local authorities in the city of Koriyama after visiting the ''J Village,'' a soccer training center composed of more than 10 fields now used by people responsible for containing the crisis at the plant, triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Kan's trip to the prefecture will be accompanied by Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of nuclear accidents, according to the officials.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on July 14, 2011)
