Japan to use soil from contaminated Fukushima on flowerbeds at prime minister’s office

TOKYO AP Japan mentioned on Tuesday it plans to use selected of the soil removed from near the contaminated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on flower beds outside Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba s office to show it is safe to reuse The soil was removed as part of decontamination work following the nuclear accident and has since been in interim storage Specific of it has since been reached levels safe enough for reuse agents say Using the soil at Ishiba s office in Tokyo is aimed at reassuring the population it is safe The establishment revealed that it plans to reuse the soil for flower beds and other purposes within the grounds of ruling body agencies The plan is based on guidelines set by the Circumstances Ministry in March and endorsed by the International Atomic Capacity Agency The Fukushima calamity resulted in large amounts of radioactive materials spewing out from the plant polluting surrounding areas Japan is stuck with large volumes of the dirt chopped trees and other debris collected during intensive decontamination work It has million cubic meters of dirt and other materials enough to fill baseball stadiums stored at a sprawling outdoor facility straddling the towns of Futaba and Okuma near the Fukushima plant The governing body is aiming to find disposal sites for the soil by with administrators suggesting low pitfall material could be used to build roads and in other population works projects across the country The Milieu Ministry revealed that the soil will be used as foundation material and safely covered with top soil thick enough to keep radiation at negligible levels But there is much general unease The administration has already been forced to discontinue a plan to experiment using chosen of the soil in flower beds at several masses parks in and around Tokyo following protests The IAEA is providing assistance with the Fukushima decommissioning process which requires removing more than tons of melted fuel debris In Japan began discharging treated radioactive wastewater from the plant into the sea to reduce the pitfall of accidental leaks and to make space to build facilities needed for melted fuel removal Source