Tokyo Metropolitan Government Will Accept and Burn Disaster Debris from Tohoku, Renews Efforts to Invite Olympic Games to Tokyo

If I thought Yokohama City was so slow in responding to citizens' concern on radiation contamination, I certainly didn't know what the Tokyo Metropolitan government could do.

It doesn't even tell the citizens.

First, the Tokyo government didn't tell anyone that they started dumping the radioactive ashes in the landfill in the Tokyo Bay in May. And now, without bothering asking the citizens, again, it will start bringing the disaster debris from Tohoku that are likely to be radioactive and burn in Tokyo.

NHK News (9/29/2011):

東京都は、東日本大震災で出た岩手県内のがれきを都内に運び込んで焼却処理することを決め、３０日、岩手県との間で協定を結ぶことになりました。

The Tokyo Metropolitan government has decided to bring in the disaster debris from Iwate prefecture to Tokyo and burn them, and will sign an agreement with the Iwate prefectural government on September 30.

東日本大震災の被災地では、建物などが津波によって壊されたり、流されたりして出た大量のがれきの処理が問題になっていて、被災地だけでは処理しきれない状況になっています。国が被災地以外の自治体にがれきの処理を求めた結果、東京都は、被災地のうち、岩手県で処理しきれずに残っているがれきを、平成２６年３月までの２年半にわたって受け入れることを決め、３０日、岩手県との間で協定を結ぶことになりました。

In the disaster-affected areas in Tohoku, the amount of debris from tsunami is simply too huge for the affected municipalities to process by themselves. The national government has requested the prefectures and municipalities not affected by the disaster to take the debris and process. Responding to the request, the Tokyo Metropolitan government has decided to accept the debris from Iwate Prefecture for 2 and a half years till March 2014, and will sign an agreement with the Iwate prefectural government on September 30.

都では、今後、がれきを焼却処理などする業者を公募で決めたうえで、来月から岩手県宮古市のがれきをコンテナに入れて鉄道で都内に運ぶことにしています。がれきを運び出したり、焼却したりする際には放射性物質の濃度が測定され、処理されたものは、最終的に江東区青海の先にある処分場に埋め立てられる計画です。

The Tokyo Metropolitan government will conduct public bidding to decide which contractors will get to process (incinerate) the disaster debris before starting to accept debris from Miyako City in Iwate Prefecture starting next month. The debris will arrive in Tokyo in containers by rail. Radioactive materials will be measured when the debris are shipped, and when they are burned. After incineration, the ashes will be buried in the landfill beyond Aomi in Koto-ku.

東京都によりますと、事前に宮古市にあるがれきや焼却したあとの灰について、放射性物質の濃度を測ったところ、埋め立てが可能となる国の目安をいずれも下回っていたということです。被災地のがれきを東北以外の地域が受け入れるのは東京都が初めてで、都は最終的に東北の被災地からおよそ５０万トンのがれきを受け入れる予定だということです。東京都環境局は「被災地の復旧や復興の支援につなげていきたい」と話しています。

According to the government, the density of radioactive materials measured on the debris and in the ashes from burning the debris in Miyako City was lower than the national standard to allow burying. Outside Tohoku, Tokyo will be the first to accept the disaster debris from Tohoku. The Tokyo government plans to accept the total of about 500,000 tonnes of debris. The Metropolitan bureau of environment says "We want to contribute to the recovery and rebuilding of the disaster-affected areas".

The landfill beyond Aomi, Koto-ku is the same one in the Tokyo Bay that the Tokyo Metropolitan government has been dumping the radioactive ashes since May. (See my 9/13/2011 post.)

As to the "safe" level of burying the radioactive ashes and debris, that's totally meaningless now that the Ministry of Environment has allowed the burial of just about anything, even the ashes that measures over 100,000 becquerels/kg of cesium, as long as there are measures in place at the processing facilities that will prevent the leakage. Uh huh.

Apparently, when the Tokyo Metropolitan government answered questions from the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on September 28, it was already a done deal. Assemblyman Hirofumi Yanagase, who has been active in alerting the citizens about dangerous radiation levels at sludge plants and waste incinerators in his district in Tokyo, fumes (link is in Japanese):

"The government said during the question and answer session in the Assembly on September 28 that the details were still being worked out. But then less than half a day later they announced a concrete plan of accepting 1,000 tonnes of debris from Iwate Prefecture by the middle of November."

Yanagase also wonders if his colleagues in the Assembly are even aware of radiation and radiation contamination in Tokyo at all. Probably not, Mr. Yanagase, from what I read and hear.

NHK also reports that the Tokyo will launch the campaign to invite the 2020 Summer Olympics to Tokyo but with the reduced budget, after the lavish and unsuccessful campaign by Governor Ishihara the last time (for 2016) was heavily criticized. Now Isihara says he will only use 7 billion yen (US$91.5 million) of taxpayers' money instead of 14 billion yen he spent the last time.

Oh and the national government now wants Tokyo and 7 other Prefectures in Kanto and Tohoku (Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba) to build intermediate storage facilities of highly contaminated soil in their own prefectures, according to Yomiuri Shinbun (9/28/2011). Half of Tohoku and most of Kanto are to have a nuclear waste dump, and Tokyo wants to invite Olympics.

Tokyo looks set to become the most radioactive capital in the world. I bet the governor of Tokyo likes that: "Ichiban (Number One)!" I doubt that it will win the Olympics bid, ever again.

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