15 Years On: Japan to Reuse Soil from Decontamination in Earnest

Tokyo, Feb. 28 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese Environment Ministry plans to begin full-scale efforts aimed at recycling soil collected during decontamination work following the 2011 nuclear accident in northeastern Japan. The ministry is seeking to reuse soil with low levels of radioactive contamination, collected from areas polluted due to the triple meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. It began using the soil in the front garden of the prime minister’s office and flower beds at central government offices in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district last year. The ministry aims to expand the efforts this year to other areas, such as at regional branch offices of government agencies and government-affiliated organizations. But it is often difficult to gain support from local residents. Some 14 million cubic meters of tainted soil is kept at interim storage in Fukushima Prefecture, where the power plant is located. The country is required by law to carry out final disposal of the soil outside the prefecture by March 2045. Of the stored soil, about three-fourths is considered to have low levels of radioactive materials. Last August, the government approved a five-year road map that calls for setting plans to reuse such soil for public works and private projects by around 2030. The prime minister’s office started using the soil last July, while central government offices in Kasumigaseki began doing so last September. Although the amount used is small, “the number of critical opinions (about the efforts) is limited,” an Environment Ministry official said. However, getting citizens to accept the use of the soil in regional offices of central government agencies and government-linked organizations is expected to be a bigger hurdle, as such facilities are often located close to where people live. A 2022 Environment Ministry pilot project to use the soil in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo’s busy Shinjuku Ward and elsewhere fell through due to strong opposition from local residents. In a press conference in February this year, Environment Minister Hirotaka Ishihara said that he wants to find locations to use the soil by autumn. But it remains unclear whether recycling efforts will progress as planned. On top of the need to gain understanding from local communities, the ministry must also consider that costs to transport the soil to a possible host site may exceed those of keeping the soil at the interim storage, depending on distance and volume. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]