#Radioactive Debris: Kitakyushu City to Test Burn, First in Kyushu

Kitakyushu City has been heavily polluted in the past from numerous steel mills and other heavy industries. Now, the city government is eager to risk polluting the city with radioactive materials.

From a few tweets from residents in the city who called the city government and spoke with the people in the section that deals with the debris burning, the national government has been exerting a heavy pressure on the city to proceed with the test burn and acceptance of the debris (which is just a foregone conclusion).

Kitakyushu City, which literally means "city in northern Kyushu", is located on the northern-most tip of Kyushu Island. It used to be 5 separate cities, but they consolidated themselves into one giant city in 1965 for the added benefits of being designated as "ordinance-designated city". It is the largest city in western Japan. According to the city's website, it wants to be the most "ecological", "green" (i.e. low-carbon) city in the whole wide world.

From Yomiuri Shinbun Kyushu version (5/16/2012):

宮城県石巻市の震災がれきの受け入れを検討している北九州市は２３～２５日にがれきの試験焼却を行うことを決めた。北橋健治市長が１６日、記者会見で発表した。試験焼却の結果、受け入れが実施されれば関西以西では初めて。

Kitakyushu City has decided to conduct the test burn of the disaster debris from Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture from May 23 to 25. Mayor Kenji Kitahashi announced the plan during the press conference on May 16. It will be the first, west of Kansai, if the city formally accepts the debris after the test burn.

　焼却するがれきは、木くずを中心に８０トン。１５日から現地で選別作業が行われており、２２日に陸路で同市に到着する。

The disaster debris to be test burned will be 80 tonnes, mostly wood debris. The sorting has started in Ishinomaki since May 15, and the debris will arrive in Kitakyushu City by land on May 22.

　市内で出た一般ごみに混ぜ、２３日から小倉北区・日明(ひあがり)工場で約３２トン、２４日から門司区・新門司工場で約４８トンを、それぞれ２４時間かけて燃やした後、焼却灰の放射能濃度を測定し、市ががれきの焼却灰の埋め立て基準とする１キロ当たり３３０ベクレル以下かどうかを調べる。灰は小倉北区の倉庫で保管し、受け入れが決まれば、若松区の最終処分場に埋める方針。

The debris will be mixed with the household garbage collected in the city. Starting May 23, 32 tonnes will be burned at the Hiagari incineration plant in Kokura Kita District of the city, and 48 tonnes at the Shin Moji incineration plant in Moji District starting May 24. They will burn the debris for 24 hours before they measure the radioactivity of the ashes to see if it is below 330 bq/kg [of radioactive cesium], the city's own standard to bury the ashes. The ashes [from the test burn] will be stored in a warehouse in Kokura Kita District. If the city officially accepts the debris [after the test burn], the ashes will be buried in the final disposal site in Wakamatsu District.

The mixture ratio is 9 (household garbage) to 1 (disaster debris), according to May 2 Yomiuri Shinbun article. The ashes from burning the household garbage in Kitakyushu City do not contain radioactive cesium above the detection levels, according to the city's measurement.

Judging by the fact that they will burn 24 hours straight, the incinerators must be those that require the continuous 24-hour burn in order to properly operate.

According to the data from the Ministry of the Environment, the wood debris in Ishinomaki City proper has been found with 35 bq/kg of radioactive cesium, but the wood debris in part of Ishinomaki City in Ojika Peninsula has been found with 85 bq/kg of radioactive cesium. If the debris that Kitakyushu City will test burn is the fine particles (less than 5mm in size), which are basically the crushed wood debris, they test 207 and 360 Bq/kg respectively.

So they are using how many special trucks to transport this debris from Ishinomaki to Kitakyushu? 900 miles?? (Kitakyushu City is much closer to Korea than to Ishinomaki.) The transportation cost is all paid by the national government (i.e. taxpayers of Japan, whether they like it or not) of course.

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