In March 2011, an earthquake triggered a massive tsunami along Japan’s coast. The surging waters caused the Fukushima Daiichi power plant to lose power. As a result, the cooling systems of three reactors failed, and their cores experienced a partial meltdown, releasing radiation into the environment in the second worst nuclear accident in history. While the earthquake and tsunami claimed over 18,000 lives, the nuclear accident itself didn’t cause any direct radiation deaths. However, 14 years later, Japan is still dealing with its consequences—including over 494 million cubic feet (14 million cubic meters) of slightly radioactive soil, equivalent to 11 Tokyo Domes.
To demonstrate that the soil is now safe enough to repurpose, Japan announced on Tuesday plans to use some in the flower beds at the Prime Minister’s office, as reported by Japan Today. The soil has been sitting at an interim storage facility near the Fukushima Daiichi complex since its removal during decontamination work, and the Japanese government is legally obliged to deal with the soil before 2045. The plan comes in the wake of public opposition to using the soil in Tokyo’s public parks, pushing the government to abandon the plan.
The Environment Ministry maintains that some of the soil is now safe enough to repurpose. Since the public is clearly not convinced, however, the government plans to demonstrate this firsthand by using the soil in flower beds as well as for other purposes near government offices, according to Japan Today. “The government will take the lead in setting an example, and we will do so at the prime minister’s office,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a meeting, as reported by the Guardian.
Back in 2024, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved Japan’s plan to recycle about 75% of the slightly radioactive soil—”if demonstrated safe”—in infrastructure including railways, waste treatment sites, roads, seawalls, coastal protection, agricultural land, and land reclamation. During the soil task force meeting, the Environment Ministry said that the radioactive soil would be used in foundations and covered in a thick layer of regular topsoil, according to the AP.
“The IAEA is confident that as the Ministry of the Environment (MOEJ) continues to explore solutions in line with our recommendations, its evolving strategy for recycling and final disposal of removed soil and waste will remain consistent with IAEA Safety Standards,” agency director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated in an IAEA press release.
Japan is also dealing with hundreds of millions of gallons of contaminated water, which operators used in 2011 to flood the nuclear reactors to mitigate the meltdown. In 2023, the IAEA approved Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, which the country began doing shortly after despite strong opposition from neighboring countries. In a similar demo to the forthcoming one, Japanese ministers ate fish from Fukushima to demonstrate that the discharge was not contaminating seafood.
Evidently, many people need tangible proof that the government truly has their health and safety in mind. It remains to be seen whether this future demonstration will be enough to convince them.
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