ID :
358408
Thu, 02/26/2015 - 03:08
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Fukushima Gives OK to Tainted Soil Transfer

Fukushima, Feb. 25 (Jiji Press)--Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori told the Japanese government on Wednesday that his prefecture will allow the transfer of radioactive soil to a provisional site in the northeastern prefecture. The governor announced the decision in a meeting with Environment Minister Yoshio Mochizuki and other central government officials at his office in the city of Fukushima, the prefectural capital. The provisional site will hold soil and other waste from decontamination work in the prefecture following the March 2011 triple reactor meltdown accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The meeting was also joined by the mayors of Okuma and Futaba, which host the provisional site, which is part of a planned interim storage facility for such soil and waste. Mochizuki expressed his respect for the governor's decision and said the central government will work hard on decontamination and reconstruction in the prefecture. The mayors demanded the central government do not start delivering the soil at least until March 12, the day after the fourth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that caused the nuclear disaster, in order to give consideration to the sentiment of local residents. Mochizuki said he will take the demand seriously. The central government currently plans to start the soil transportation by the anniversary. The prefectural government and the two towns concluded agreements with the central government to ensure the safety of the soil delivery. END

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