Illustration by Kunihiro Suzuki
Next year marks 10 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 and the subsequent nuclear accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The accident robbed people of their lives, livelihood, communities, and precious time with their families, all in harmony with the blessings of nature. The accident still affects a lot of people. On the other hand, under the slogan of "reconstruction" the current situation of the ongoing accident and the problems of nuclear power plants are made "invisible", creating an atmosphere in which people cannot talk about health issues and anxiety.
A large amount of contaminated soil was generated by decontamination. The amount is said to be 14 million cubic meters. The Ministry of the Environment has established a policy to use the contaminated soil for public works projects or farmland development throughout the country, and is currently preparing a guidance for that. At the site of the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPS, contaminated water generated by the mixing of cooling water for fuel debris and groundwater flowing into the building is treated with Advanced Liquid Processing Systems (ALPS) and stored in tanks. The amount of treated but still contaminated water stored has reached about 1.2 million m3. The government is expected to decide on the release of the water into the ocean as early as this year. Japanese government does not consider the alternatives well although there is a proposal from a citizens’ group to solidify the contaminated water with mortar and dispose it stably.
In the second webinar of "10 Years after the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster", we would like to share the situation of the diffusion of radioactive materials and discuss it with participants.
English interpretation(simultaneous) is avaialble.
Details
When| Tokyo | 18 October 2020 10:00am~12:00 |
| Sidney/Mellborn | 18 October 2020 12:00-14:00 |
| New York/Tronto | 17 October2020 21:00-23:00 |
| Chicago | 17 October2020 20:00-22:00 |
| LA/Vancouer | 17 October2020 18:00-20:00 |
Where
＞Zoom (Registration is now closed)
Program (tentative)
- Introduction
- Film Fishermen in Fukushima (12 min)
１． Situation updates : What is happening on the radioactive materials? ...Kanna Mitsuta, Friends of the Earth Japan
２． Voices from Fukushima
- A color of hometown has been changed, Ms. Chiyo Oda from Iwaki City, Fukushima Pref.
- What we demand from the government …Ms. Saki Ogawara from Miharu town, Fukushima Pref.
３． Burning contaminated woods for electricity generation? …Ms. Nakako Wada
４． Comment from Ms. Atsuko Masano, Journalist
５． Q and A