Last December, the Ministry announced that the process would allow up to 99 percent of the contaminated soil to be reused. The Ministry is testing its recycling method at a facility in Minami-soma City. It plans to transfer soil containing less than 8,000 becquerels per kilogram to be used under roads and in building levees not only in Fukushima but all over Japan. The Ministry of the Environment has begun to push the idea of "recycling" the contaminated soil. "We hate looking at them and avoid going near them." This Fukushima resident says the green sheets scattered around the city remind her that reconstruction is still ongoing. "When we see these containers of contaminated matter, covered in green sheets, it reminds us of what happened eight years ago," said another. "We feel uncomfortable having the contaminated soil around our homes," said one. To avoid increasing radioactivity around these on-site locations, the contaminated soil is buried and then surrounded by sandbags, which authorities say keeps it safe. A green sheet is the sign of an on-site storage unit. They are conspicuous objects covered by green sheets, found in parking lots and in front of houses. There are currently 105,000 on-site storage locations throughout the prefecture. The lack of progress setting up transitional facilities has led to the contaminated soil being stored on-site instead. The delay is down to problems with land acquisition. The government plans to finish moving all contaminated soil in Fukushima to transitional storage facilities by the end of March 2022, and to remove it from the prefecture by 2045.īut so far, only about 2.4 million square meters of soil-17 percent of the total planned volume-have been transferred to the temporary storage units. As the name indicates, it’s a temporary storage space. This is a "transitional storage facility" in Fukushima Prefecture. To this end, nuclear power, in particular the active use of existing plants, should be "a very important part" of the strategy to lower emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century.Falling behind schedule Only a small percentage of the contaminated soil in Fukushima Prefecture has been placed in transitional storage facilities. While Europe had "massive" offshore wind resources, Japan was "less endowed with … good renewable sources in that respect." The country, he said, had "very ambitious programs for the expansion of renewable sources." These included solar photovoltaic and wind, especially offshore wind. Together with battery storage, it can generate the power we need and slash our emissions."ĭuring his interview with CNBC, Sadamori was asked why focusing on renewable sources and directing investment toward such areas was less viable for Japan than returning to nuclear. "Renewable energy is cheaper and can be installed quickly. "It also creates huge amounts of hazardous waste," it adds. "Nuclear power is touted as a solution to our energy problems, but in reality it's complex and hugely expensive to build," the environmental organization's website states. While Japan may be refocusing its attention on nuclear, the technology is not favored by all.Ĭritics include Greenpeace. Under an "ambitious outlook," its Strategic Energy Plan envisages renewables accounting for 36% to 38% of its power generation mix in 2030, with nuclear responsible for 20% to 22%. Japan is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050. "Stable use of nuclear power will be promoted on the major premise that public trust in nuclear power should be gained and that safety should be secured," it states. The importance of public support is emphasized in an outline of Japan's 6th Strategic Energy Plan. "So I consider that things are improving a bit, but I think that the … public, local acceptance issue still continues to be a very difficult part of the nuclear restart." "We are seeing more people supporting the restart of the nuclear power plants, based on … recent surveys by the major Japanese newspapers," he added. "That's the most difficult part," he said, adding that the Japanese people still had some concerns about safety.Ĭiting "difficult energy market situations" as well as Japan's "very tight electricity market," Sadamori said public sentiment in the country was nevertheless "changing a little." Given its recent history, the IEA's Sadamori was asked about current public sentiment in Japan toward nuclear. If fully realized, the moves being planned by Japan would represent a turnaround for the country's energy policy following 2011′s Fukushima disaster, when a powerful earthquake and tsunami resulted in a meltdown at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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