IAEA Backs Recycling, Disposal Plan for Fukushima Soil

   Tokyo, Sept. 10 (Jiji Press)--The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday backed Japan's approach to recycling and disposing of soil and radioactive waste from decontamination of areas affected by the 2011 Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant accident.
   Japanese efforts, including an Environment Ministry project to use such soil in embankments for roads, agricultural land and others, showed that it is "appropriate to use the recycled soil under proper management," the U.N. agency said in a final report submitted to Environment Minister Shintaro Ito.
   Ito met with IAEA officials and said that the IAEA's evaluation of the recycling and disposal plan provides a significant support.
   The IAEA has conducted three international expert missions since 2023, including one that investigated the project in Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture, to recycle soil removed from areas contaminated due to the meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s power plant. The report said that the ministry's approach is consistent with international safety standards.
   In decontamination activities, about 13 million cubic meters of soil has been removed. The soil is temporarily stored at an interim storage facility straddling Okuma and Futaba, the host municipalities of the TEPCO plant.

(2024/09/10-19:18)

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