21 January, 2020
Evacuation Orders for Futaba, Okuma, Tomioka Towns to Be Partially Lifted in March, with JR Joban Line to Be Completely Reopened for Service
On January 17, the Japanese government’s Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters decided to partially lift in March evacuation orders for Futaba, Okuma and Tomioka Towns in Fukushima Prefecture. The orders were issued in the wake of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs).
The chair of the headquarters, Yohei Matsumoto, state minister of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), had been meeting with local government officials, and came to an agreement with each of them at the end of December. This will be the first lifting of evacuation orders in Futaba since the restrictions were originally imposed.
In Futaba, the order for the area already designated as places “where evacuation orders will soon be lifted”—affecting 229 residents in 75 households (as of April 2019)—will be lifted on March 4.
At a symposium held in Tokyo in December, Futaba Mayor Shiro Izawa noted that ensuring employment was an issue of high priority, while working toward the target of getting residents back into their homes by the spring of this year. The town, he said, ha...more
- 21 November, 2019 TEPCO Announces Timeline for Storage and Disposal of Treated Contaminated Water at Fukushima Daiichi
- 7 October, 2019 Fukushima Joban Products Fair Begins, Featuring Seafood Sent Directly to Restaurants in Tokyo-Yokohama Area
- 16 August, 2019 Two-day International Forum on Decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi Focuses on Coexistence and Co-prosperity with Local Communities
- 9 August, 2019 IRID Symposium Held in Fukushima, with Students Explaining Their Research on Fuel Debris Removal
- 8 August, 2019 TEPCO Decides to Decommission All Four Fukushima Daini Units
- 30 July, 2019 Fukushima Governor Promotes Local Products and Tourism at Summer Davos Meeting in China
- 5 June, 2019 TEPCO Considering New Plan to Remove Spent Fuel from Fukushima Daiichi-2
- 15 May, 2019 【52nd JAIF Annual Conference】 Fukushima Daiichi Report
- 10 May, 2019 President of Decommissioning Company Says “Feel” from Unit 3 Will Aid Decommissioning of Other Units
- 10 May, 2019 Demonstration Made by MHI and IRID of Robot Arm to Remove Fuel Debris from Fukushima Daiichi
- 24 April, 2019 Leaders Meet with OECD Secretary-General Gurría to Address Fukushima Reconstruction
- 24 April, 2019 Governor Uchibori of Fukushima Says That Thorough Explanations Are the Only Way to Eliminate Unfounded Fears and Rumors
- 15 April, 2019 Okuma Town Becomes First Nuclear Hosting Municipality to Have Evacuation Orders Partially Lifted
24 December, 2019
Fuel Removal from Fukushima Daiichi-1 NPP: Large Cover to be Installed First
On December 19, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced that it had decided on a method to remove fuel from the spent fuel pool at the Fukushima Daiichi-1 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) by installing a large cover first, then removing the debris from under the cover.
Besides that method, the power utility had been considering another in which debris would be removed first, after which the cover would be installed and the fuel removed under the cover. TEPCO made its decision after comprehensively evaluating dust-suppression measures, radiation exposure to workers, rainwater measures (the generation of contaminated water), and the effects on surrounding work operations.
A total of one hundred unused fuel assemblies and 292 spent assemblies are being stored at the Unit 1 spent fuel po...more
