Government wants to “re-use” contaminated soil – in public works projects
A committee under the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) developed a policy in early 2016 that would allow soil generated from decontamination work to be utilized in public works projects and as fill in farming areas all over Japan if the soil has a radiation level lower than 8,000 Bq/kg (Investigative Committee on Strategy for Technological Innovation for Reducing and Recycling Temporarily Stored Contaminated Soil).1 The aim of this policy is to reduce the total volume and recycle soil and waste from decontamination work, estimated at up to 22 million cubic meters from within Fukushima Prefecture. The current plan is to store decontamination waste for up to 30 years at temporary storage sites proposed to be built near the Fukuoka Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. After that, the waste is to be transported to sites outside the prefecture for “final disposal.” However, it has proven difficult to secure any disposal locations, so the MOE deems it crucial to reduce the volume of waste.
Regulations under the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Act originally specified that waste containing 100 Bq/kg or more of radiation (cesium equivalent) was to be considered “radioactive waste” and to be controlled onsite at nuclear facilities. The revised policy of the MOE would allow radioactive waste 80 times that level to be used in public works projects.
This double standard dates back to the 2011 Act of Special Measures concerning the Handling of Pollution by Radioactive Materials. With its enactment, waste containing up to 8,000 Bq/kg of radiation could be disposed in the same way as general (municipal) waste.
Examples of public works include the construction of roads, tidal embankments, seaside protection forests, and reclamation of land and water areas. The idea is that soil and materials would be used as structural material.
However, there have been many cases of problems such as leakage of pollution into the surrounding environment, even at managed disposal sites with supposedly water-impermeable designs. If these materials are used in public works, there are concerns that they may end up being used without making the sites water-impermeable. Moreover, there are concerns about possible collapse and leakage in the event of disasters such as floods, earthquakes and tsunamis.
Nihonmatsu community fights back
The MOE was planning a demonstration project to use soil generated from decontamination work for roadbeds of farm roads in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture. But the citizens of Nihonmatsu opposed it several reasons. Despite the fact that only a portion of the affected population had participated in briefing sessions, the proposal was deemed to have been “accepted” by the local community. The government’s original commitment was to transport decontamination soil away from temporary storage areas. However, using it to build farm roads would effectively mean the final disposal will be right there. This has caused the public to be gravely concerned about the spread of radioactive substances.
The new plan was to excavate some 200 meters of farm roads in the Harase Saiki district of Nihonmatsu, take 500 bags of decontamination soil now stored at a temporary storage site, spread it out as roadbed material, and cover it with about 50 centimeters of covering soil. In February 2018, local citizen groups submitted a request to MOE to completely cancel the plan. In April, they set up a “STOP contaminated soil reuse” banner and distributed 20,000 leaflets door to door. The grassroots campaign was also covered in the media by NHK Fukushima. In May, there was a move to cancel transactions of fermented animal feed that would be produced near the proposed demonstration project, which made people aware of the serious consequences of the project. Local residents also participated in negotiations with the MOE organized by FoE Japan in Tokyo. Due to the opposition, the MOE indicated its intentions to effectively cancel the plan in June 2018.
Demonstration project in Iitate (Nagadoro) and Minamisoma (Odaka)
A demonstration project using decontaminated soil to create farmland is underway in the Nagadoro District of Iitate Village. The plan is to take 30,000 bags (a cubic meter each) of decontamination soil being stored in the village, transport them to a stockyard in the Nagadoro administrative area, open the bags in the soil recycling facility to obtain the required volume of material, remove foreign matter, separate the soil based on radioactive concentrations, and utilize soil with radioactive concentrations below 5,000 Bq/kg as filler to raise the elevation of farmland along the Hiso River (Hisokawa). It is then to be covered with 50 centimeters of soil, and then horticultural crops and “resource crops” would be grown on it. Initially, 0.1 hectares of farmland would be created, but the scale would later be expanded to 34 hectares. This would be implemented as part of the plans for the Iitate “zone designated for reconstruction and recovery,” but residents feel they were given no opportunity to reject these plans, including the so-called “decontamination” going on around their homes.
Meanwhile, in Minamisoma the government is promoting a plan to reuse soil from decontamination work in a road widening project on the Joban Expressway in the Odaka Ward. On February 1, 2019, local residents formed an opposition group. A representative of one of the local communities explained why they are opposed: “The government’s original commitment was to transport decontamination soil away from temporary storage sites to intermediate storage facilities within three to five years. Eight years have now gone by but the commitment has not been honored. The government says this is just a ‘demonstration,’ but we are concerned that once the approach is used once, decontamination soil will end up being placed here permanently.”
What about final disposal outside Fukushima Prefecture?
The MOE is currently conducting demonstration projects in Tochigi Prefecture (Nasu Town) and Ibaraki Prefecture (Tokai Village) to landfill 330,000 cubic meters of decontamination soil from so-called Intensive Contamination Survey Areas (ICSAs) outside Fukushima Prefecture. Based on findings, the MOE intends to formulate enforcement ordinances and guidelines under the Act on Special Measures Concerning the Handling of Radioactive Pollution.
In Nasu, a demonstration project that began in September 2018 involved the removal of about 350 cubic meters of decontamination soil from bags that were being stored below ground at what was formerly a tennis court in the Iohno Sanson Square, and re-burying it. It would be covered with 30 centimeters of soil, and the decontamination soil would be above a water-collecting sand layer, which would be above a waterproof sheet. Leachate would then be collected and tested. It would be treated with a process using zeolite and activated carbon and then discharged into a gutter.
Fig. Cross-section of demonstration project in Nasu Town (Tochigi Pref.)
Source: Ministry of Environment website
The MOE has set a median value for radioactive cesium in decontamination soil to go out of Fukushima Prefecture at 800 Bq/kg and 95% must be at 2,500 Bq/kg or less, but the amount of cesium in the soil to be actually reclaimed is unknown at this stage. The community is opposed, as it has not been made clear who will manage what, and what kind of monitoring system there will be after the demonstration project.
Plans to landfill radioactive waste by Tenryu River, Miyadamura (Nagano Pref.)
Under the 2011 Act of Special Measures concerning the Handling of Pollution by Radioactive Materials, upon an written application submitted by a party that possesses such wastes, the Minister of Environment will classify it as “designated waste” if it has 8,000 Bq/kg or greater radioactive contamination, and disposal becomes the government’s responsibility. Any waste below 8,000 Bq/kg can be handled as general waste.
A private firm plans to build a final landfill site near the Tenryu River in Miyadamura, Nagano Prefecture for industrial waste. This includes radioactive waste. It is envisaged that the waste would be hauled to the proposed landfill site from the Kanto region (which contains seven prefectures, including Tochigi and Ibaraki Prefectures).
The proposed site sits close to the confluence of Tenryu River and Otagiri River, on an alluvial fan terrain where waters from surrounding mountains meet. The area is also abundant in groundwater.
The local community has collected more than 100,000 signatures to oppose the plan, saying “The project could adversely affect not only local agriculture, sightseeing and the economy but also the wellbeing and health of the residents living in the Tenryu River region.” They have also alerted residents more broadly about the plan, and nine local governments in Kami Ina County and Shimo Ina County have adopted statements opposing the spread of radioactive waste and contaminated soil.
- Bq (becquerel) is a unit of radiation emissions per second. The amount of radiation is proportional to the amount of material; therefore, amounts expressed in becquerels are seen as representing the quantity of a radioactive substance present.