Japanese PM admits there will be 'long term battle' to stabilise nuclear plant
The Japanese government has indicated it may be years before residents of
towns and villages close to the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor
will be able to return to their homes.
Yukio Edano, Japan's
chief cabinet secretary, warned on Friday that evacuees are not going to be
able to return home in the foreseeable future.
"I know for certain that it will not be a few days or weeks before we are
able to call off the evacuation on a full scale," he said.
More than 70,000 people living inside a 12 mile evacuation zone around the
Fukushima nuclear power plant have been moved to temporary shelters, and
another 136,000 people living up to 18 miles away are being encouraged to
leave.
In a televised address to the nation on Friday, Naoto Kan, the prime minister,
said that he would do "whatever it takes to win the battle" at the
nuclear power station.
"We cannot say that the plant has been sufficiently stabilised, but we
are preparing for all kinds of situations," Mr Kan said. "I am
prepared for a long-term battle over the Fukushima nuclear plant and to win
this battle."
The prime minister also sought to allay fears of the impact on the health of
people living close to the plant, 137 miles north of Tokyo, saying that, "as
long as the public adheres to government advice, people's health will not be
compromised.
"In Japan, we ask people to follow the rules and, if they do, then there
will be no damage to their health," said Mr Kan, who finally swapped
the worker's coveralls he has worn since the start of the crisis to show
determination to deal with the problems at the nuclear plant for his more
familiar suit.
Earlier in the day, though, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said that
radioactive water may be flowing into the Pacific Ocean from damaged
drainage systems.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, also stated that groundwater around
the plant is "highly" contaminated with radiation, at levels
10,000 times the legal limit, while radioactive Iodine-131 at 4,385 times
the maximum permissible level has been detected in seawater just off the
facility.
Japan's health ministry said it had extended a ban on shipments of some
vegetables and dairy produce from the radiation-affected area to cover beef
as well.
The government insists that water and food contamination has not reached
levels which would be harmful to health, and has rejected calls from the
International Atomic Energy Agency and environmental groups to extend the
18-mile exclusion zone around the plant.
Speculation is mounting, though, that the government will have to step in to
help TEPCO face the colossal costs of compensation people and companies
impacted by the Fukushima disaster. The company also faces allegations that
safety standards were violated.
"Naturally, there will be a debate on how Tepco should exist or be,"
Koichiro Gemba, the minister of national strategy, told reporters earlier
this week, triggering speculation that the government could step in to
support the stricken firm.
No comments:
Post a Comment