Le blog de fukushima-is-still-news

December 17, 2014

Debris removal begins along coast of Futaba town

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20141217_28.html

Dec. 17, 2014 - Updated 09:00 UTC+1

Work to remove debris from the March 2011 tsunami has begun along the coast of Futaba Town in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture. An evacuation order is still in place for the town since the accident there at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Japan's government is responsible for removing the debris.

On Wednesday morning, government-appointed workers began clearing the roughly 200-hectare area. They loaded driftwood and housing material onto trucks using construction machinery, and took it to a provisional storage site.

The Environment Ministry estimates the amount of debris in the area at 5,500 tons. The area is designated for preparation for the lifting of the evacuation order, where radiation levels there are relatively low.

Removal of the debris would enable decontamination work and hopefully speed up the area's reconstruction.

Debris clearing starts in Futaba, more than 3½ years after tsunami

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/12/17/national/debris-clearing-starts-futaba-3%C2%BD-years-tsunami/#.VJGf-P-cJA

Kyodo

FUKUSHIMA – Workers started clearing debris on Wednesday in some parts of Futaba near the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, nearly four years after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered the nuclear crisis.

Fukushima Prefecture town is in the evacuation zone around the crippled nuclear plant.

The Environment Ministry plans to remove 13,000 tons of debris by March 2016 in areas designated to prepare for the lifting of the evacuation order. No such plan is in place for other areas of the town due to higher radiation levels.

After a silent tribute to victims of the disaster, ministry officials and other people launched the operation using heavy machinery in the Morotake area.

“At last, Futaba town’s reconstruction begins,” said Rokuro Saito, 77, a community leader in Morotake.

Saito has been living in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in the wake of the disaster.