The assembly of Tsushima, in southwestern Japan, on Tuesday approved a request for the city to carry out a preliminary study to assess its suitability to host an underground landfill for highly radioactive waste.
Tsushima Mayor Naoki Hitakatsu said he would make a final decision during the September assembly session on whether to authorize the study, the first part of a three-phase process that will last about 20 years to select a permanent landfill for waste from nuclear energy generation.
If Tsushima decides to carry out the study, requested by four local construction associations, the island city of Nagasaki prefecture, which is struggling with depopulation and a recessionary economy, would receive up to 2 billion yen (13.6 million dollars) in state subsidies.
In 2020, two municipalities in Hokkaido, northern Japan, Suttsu and Kamoenai, were the first to approve preliminary surveys.
However, the polls have not been completed in the planned two years and it is unclear whether the process will move to the second phase, as local opposition remains strong.
The first phase studies, carried out by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, a quasi-governmental body in Tokyo, involve checking ground conditions and volcanic activity based on published geological sources.
The first round of evacuation of radioactive water from the Fukushima plant ends
Japan, like many other countries with nuclear power plants, is struggling to find permanent landfills.
In 2020, two municipalities in Hokkaido, northern Japan, Suttsu and Kamoenai, were the first to approve preliminary surveys
High-level radioactive waste, produced by extracting uranium and plutonium from spent fuel, must be stored in bedrock at a minimum depth of 300 meters for tens of thousands of years until the radioactivity drops to levels that do not cause harm. for human health or the environment.
Tsushima was identified on a map of possible final storage sites published by the central government in 2017.
Source: https://reporteasia.com/economia/desarrollo-sostenible/2023/09/13/tsushima-aprueba-emplazamiento-inspeccion-residuos-nucleares/
