Double Standard on Radiation Decrease

It has been five years and few months, since First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant emitted huge amount of radioactive materials after severe accident occurred in it. The radiation contaminated the soil around there. Local governments scraped the soil and accumulated it at the stockyards. The plan for taking care of the soil had been based on a notion that the radiation would be reduced to a safe level within 70 years. However, it proved to be 170 years for the radiation to be safe.

Mainichi Shimbun revealed that a working group for reviewing safety evaluation of radiation in Ministry of Environment had been escaping from decision for possibility of long-term storage of contaminated soil, even though they knew that it would take longer time to be safe than it had been calculated.

The working group expected that the contaminated soil could be used for fill of highway. The radiation was assumed as being reduced to be safe in 70 years, which would be the life of the road. They thought that radiation of concrete-covered highway should be 6,000 becquerel or lower and planted fill must be 5,000 becquerel or lower.

However, there is a double standard in safety standard of radiation. Nuclear Reactor Regulation Act determines that the safe level of radioactive cesium is 100 becquerel or lower. But, Special Act for Dealing with Radioactive Contamination, legislated after Fukushima accident, defines that debris with 8,000 becquerel of radiation must be dealt as “designated debris” needing careful treatment and the lesser would be treated with no problem.

The working group calculated the safety level of highway fill should be 8,000 becquerel or lower, even Nuclear Reactor Regulation Act determined it to be 100 becquerel or lower. But, the fact that the group made a trial calculation about how long it took for reducing radiation less than 100 becquerel proved their concern about collateral damage of contaminated soil. The chairman of the working group, Professor of Hokkaido University Tsutomu Sato, admitted that they were laying “theoretical armament” for applying 8,000 becauerel limitation.

This is a question about whether those people in the working group are suitable for dealing with nuclear waste, which may affect health of Japanese citizens. Only in Fukushima Prefecture, 22 million cubic meters of radioactive soil is accumulated in everywhere. Although they had to be as careful as applying strict standard, what they were doing was changing rules of game. Lack of honesty simply leads to losing confidence on nuclear policy.