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Ministry to monitor nuclear decontamination more strictly

19 Comments

The Environment Ministry has announced plans to ensure that Fukushima cleanup operations are henceforth carried out according to safety guidelines after local residents reported that radioactive material was being dumped into rivers.

The ministry said Tuesday that it will establish bases nearer to cleanup crews so that it can better monitor their activities, Fuji TV reported. The announcement comes days after Asahi Shimbun reporters confirmed claims that construction companies who had signed lucrative contracts to establish bases for the decontamination work were ignoring environment ministry rules.

Among them were regulations pertaining to the proper storage of water used for cleaning buildings around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was allowed to flow back into rivers. The Asahi reported that soil and branches were dumped in forests or rivers just meters from proposed cleanup bases, on the orders of supervisors, instead of being stored for proper disposal.

The ministry also said it would demand an explanation from the construction companies involved in the scandal, Fuji reported.

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19 Comments
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Imagine that! Improper disposal by yak contractors? Never! ;)

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The announcement comes days after Asahi Shimbun reporters confirmed claims that construction companies who had signed lucrative contracts to establish bases for the decontamination work were ignoring environment ministry rules.

さすが! (As expected) - So, we have had radioactive gravel used in apartment blocks, contaminated foods labeled as coming from other prefectures and now, illegal dumping of radioactive materials into rivers. It just keeps getting better! Keep up the bad work work Japan! Your business ethics are shining through!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

construction companies who had signed lucrative contracts

Yakuza

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The ministry also said it would demand an explanation from the construction companies involved in the scandal, Fuji reported.

Yes, please have a nice chat with them and ask them not to do it again. I am sure they will listen. In any decent country these companies would be named, shamed, charged and managers in jail. Japan? Not a thing done.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Me think that decontamination thing is just a PR thing aimed at hood-winking unsuspecting citizens that after clean-up, the place will be safe to return, which is not correct. After 2 years of dilly-darling, these nuclear particles are now far into the ecosystem: soil, animals, human beings, water bodies and food chain that it is impossible to talk of decontamination. A few questions: how are they decontaminating animals that already fed on contaminated food and now free-ranging? How do they separate unseen nuclear particles with differing half-lives to be given separate storage?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Rick Kisa. Me thinks you are completely correct.

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I think what the Ministry of Environment is really saying is that "cleanup operations will henceforth be carried out with greater secrecy in places away from prying eyes."

6 ( +6 / -0 )

This is just the beginning of it. Years or decades from now there will be vast areas of contaminated hot spots discovered that would have been exposing innocent people to harm for years causing sickness. The companies involved will have long since been closed and there won't be anyone around to take any responsibility for them. Lucrative contracts that have long expired ...finger pointing ...debates and end result ....dead or sick people.

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Don't think DPJ will ever return to power.

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More strictly supposes there was some monitoring. Frankly speaking, in the view of the Asahi Newspaper's investigations, I doubt.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yes, please have a nice chat with them and ask them not to do it again. I am sure they will listen. In any decent country these companies would be named, shamed, charged and managers in jail. Japan? Not a thing done.

tmarie -- now we both know that is not true. They will be issued an "Improvement Order" in front of all the cameras so that the piblic believes everything is OK and the Ministry is serious about protecting them. Japan is a joke.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

You knew this was happening, right? Money and humans, this is what you get. And you're STILL consuming produce from Tohoku? Japan? How your trust is misplaced, if they'll spread the contamination around, they obviously just do not care.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Oh 'sumimasen' we keep getting caught doing bad things, well sorry we will not do that again we will do better next time..

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Not holding my breath...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

With Yakuza all over their culture and society, what else do you expect? They will disseminate radioactive contamination all around the country to desensitize people about it. Their logic is that if a lot of places are contaminated to some extent, people in Fukushima may stop complaining! This is done on purpose and then they promise to watch their own people. Come on you wicked politician ...

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Too little too late. Two years on the damage is done. When will Japan start acting before the a crisis happens?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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