Kawasaki City's decontamination waste will be disposed of in a landfill in Fukushima Prefecture; bidder wins bid at lower standard price

An interview with the city revealed that after the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, waste such as fallen leaves and mud that was generated when Kawasaki City decontaminated schools and parks was being disposed of in a landfill within Fukushima Prefecture. A person in charge said, ``Although it was disposed of in accordance with the law, it ended up being disposed of in Fukushima.I am disappointed.''

From August 2011 to November 2013, the city conducted decontamination of city-owned facilities such as schools and parks. Approximately 15 tons of fallen leaves and mud were removed from 49 areas with locally high radiation levels and stored in four containers at the Ukishima Stage 1 landfill in the city's waterfront area.

Under the Act on Special Measures Concerning the Handling of Radioactive Pollution, the government is responsible for dealing with radioactive contamination caused by nuclear power plant accidents, and "designated waste" whose radioactivity concentration exceeds the national standard (8,000 becquerels per kilogram) must be disposed of within the prefecture where it was generated. Anything smaller than that will be disposed of by each local government based on the Waste Management Law.

At first, some waste from the city's decontamination efforts had radioactivity concentrations that exceeded standards, but after about 10 years, natural attenuation had reduced the overall radioactivity concentration to 3,400 becquerels. The city held a public competitive bidding for disposal in October 2023, and a contractor from Miyagi Prefecture won the bid. The waste was landfilled at a private final disposal site in Fukushima Prefecture in February 2024.

Ministry of the Environment: “Properly process according to law”

A Ministry of the Environment official stated that there was no problem with this matter, saying, ``It was disposed of properly in accordance with the Waste Disposal Law.'' However, for the city, the disposal in Fukushima was unexpected. When the contract was signed in December 2023, Fukushima was indicated as one of the two potential final disposal sites, and it was only after the fact that they learned that the waste would actually be disposed of in Fukushima.

Soil produced during decontamination in Fukushima Prefecture (removed)