The number of municipalities that have accepted or are considering whether to accept debris from areas ravaged in the March 11 disaster stands at 54, although 572 expressed willingness to do so in April, the Environment Ministry said Wednesday.
“Even if all of the municipalities that are now considering accepting debris do accept it, it would not lead to the disposal of all the debris that the devastated areas want to get rid of,” a ministry official said.
The ministry said it will distribute documents to municipalities across the nation assuring that the debris from Iwate and Miyagi prefectures is safe as part of effort to urge them to accept the rubble.
It estimates that the debris from Iwate and Miyagi totals around 20.5 million tons. The debris has been collected and stored at multiple temporary storage sites. The debris from Fukushima Prefecture, home to the Fukushima complex, is in principle to be disposed of within the prefecture.
On Wednesday, workers began transporting 30 tons of debris to Tokyo by rail from the Pacific coastal city of Miyako, Iwate. The first train carrying the debris will arrive in Tokyo on Thursday.
The operation has made Tokyo the first local government outside Japan’s northeast to accept debris.
Continue reading at Municipalities increasingly unwilling to accept quake debris
