Leaving Forest Contaminated

Ministry of Environment offered an expert commission a plan not decontaminating forest area around broken First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima. The ministry explained that they had not confirmed growth of radioactive materials in the air blown from the forest and removing fallen leaves would cause further flow of contaminated soil. In other words, national government indicated its intention to escape from its responsibility for restoring original status of suffering land.

Forest occupies seven-tenth of whole land of Fukushima Prefecture. National government issued a guideline to clean up the land within 20 kilometers from towns and where people would enjoy natural life like campsite or plantation of fungi. Rest of the forest has been left to consider how to deal with.

Ministry of Environment found that 80% of radioactive materials fallen on the soil in the forest stayed on the surface. They had not been blown away to the extent consistency of radioactive materials affected people’s life. Rain did not transport the radioactives to town. The ministry dismissed the possibility for contaminated forest to affect ordinary life of the people in Fukushima.

It has been said that the forest was too large to completely decontaminate. “It is difficult to decontaminate whole forest and negative effect of decontaminating effort can be predicted. We have chosen the best way for the residents around,” told a staff for decontamination effort in the ministry to Mainichi Shimbun.

The plan of finishing decontamination effort would receive a lot of questions. The biggest one is how can the government escape from responsibility for decontamination. After the severe accident in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, national government admitted insufficiency of their traditional nuclear policy and promised to clean up the land. The offer to the commission meant that the effort would be incomplete leaving most of the land contaminated. It has to be said that the government is underestimating true cost of nuclear disaster.

Another is where the radioactive materials are going to. It is scientifically correct that disseminated cesium 137 has decades-long life. It will remain in the forest or flow with water, threatening health of residents around or mother nature. National government explained that it would build protecting fence, if flow of contaminated soil happens. But, that will not bring fundamental solution of decontamination. The Japanese cannot tolerate leaving the forest in Fukushima as useless.