Residents Near Fukushima Nuke Plant Check Effects Of Decontamination Work Transcript: IITATE, Fukushima -- Residents of this village near the disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant have begun checking the effects of decontamination work in the area, as they look to the courage of their ancestors who once overcame a great famine here hundreds of years ago for strength to face the areas current trials. These efforts are being undertaken by volunteers from the villages Hiso district. Before the nuclear disaster, there were 86 households with 339 people in the district. However, after the meltdowns the area was put under restriction due to radiation levels, and currently while free visits are allowed during the day, staying overnight is forbidden. It was not until this fiscal year that the national governments decontamination efforts truly got underway here. In May, farmer Yoshito Kanno, 62, a former resident who evacuated to the adjacent city Nihonmatsu, joined other volunteers in taking radiation measurements at residences and on farmland in Hiso. Kanno, who used to be a member of the villages assembly, has also been involved with managing the villages historical records, through which he learned about the local history. During the Great Tenmei famine from 1782 to 1787, abnormal weather like heavy rains and low temperatures combined with a large, ash-spewing eruption of Mount Asama in 1783 to cause massive crop failure. There were many starvation deaths in what is the modern-day Tohoku region, as well as widespread civil unrest. It is estimated to have caused at least some 300,000 deaths. In Hiso, the Great Tenmei famine reduced the number of households from around 90 to only a handful. Historical records show that there were government measures taken to help keep people in areas like Hiso alive, such as rice rations for families with new-born children. Kanno and the other volunteers went about their work while keeping in mind the struggles of these ancestors. We have to endeavor to lower the radiation levels as much as we can so young people will return to the village, says Kanno. Through their work, he and the others are using their measurements to check how radiation levels differ before and after decontamination work. Should they not see improvements in the radiation levels, they will ask the government to carry out further decontamination work or may even do it themselves, they say. Meanwhile, Kanno is also contributing to decontamination efforts by lending his farmland for use as a temporary storage site for contaminated soil before it is carried to another temporary site. He did so in response to a request from the national government, after construction at the original site the government planned to use had to be abandoned due to issues with the soil there. Wide open areas suitable for storage are few in this mountainous region, and the government told Kanno that if he didnt offer his land decontamination work would be delayed. It was not an easy decision for him to make, since it could make his land unusable for farming for some time after moving back to the village, but he says, We cant give up now. We have to do what we can to pass this village on to the next generation. Speaking to the Mainichi, Mayor Norio Kanno said, The three years until now we have been dealing with evacuees. Id like to make this year the beginning of recovery, and move forward step by step. Iitates population is around 6,300 people. On April 22, 2011, around 40 days after the meltdowns at the Fukushima plant, the village was designated for evacuation. In July 2012, the village was divided into three zones, one where residents cannot return for the foreseeable future -- covering 4 percent of the population -- one where daily visits are allowed but staying overnight is not allowed -- covering 83 percent of the population -- and one that is to be prepared for the return of residents in the near future, covering the remaining 13 percent of the population. From March 2016, the village government is aiming to have the evacuation order lifted from the entire village except for one area where people cannot live for the foreseeable future. mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140623p2a00m0na016000c.html
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 18:01:34 +0000
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