Fukushima residents are upset over a proposal from the state to use radioactive soil for building new roads.

The Environment Ministry is the agency that is allegedly planning to use the radiation-tainted soil for the road project and they have already planned to begin with trials that will take place next month in Nihonmatsu.

Residents have been urging state authorities to drop their plans to scatter the radiation-tainted soil around their communities. They don't want roads that have been made with contaminated soil, despite efforts from state authorities to try and assure them that it's a safe proposal.

One farmer from the area, Bunsaku Takamiya, suggested that it might fuel rumors of tainted food products that come from the region where the roads are going to be built. And that would negatively impact the livelihood of those living there.

Other community members are concerned that the soil might fuel environmental issues, possibly compromising the quality of the air and the surrounding environment.

So far, state authorities have plans to use the controversial soil to construct a road that stretches 200 meters. They want to use some of the soil to bury under the road and then they have plans to supposedly cover over that with clean soil afterward, in an effort to block radiation.

They've been cleaning-up after the Fukushima disaster for many years now and the problem still isn't contained.

Radioactive water still flows into the ocean and there is a lot of tainted soil that state authorities are eager to get rid of. They'll be looking to use that soil to help them construct various public works and different projects around the country.

However, with the growing discontent that community members have been expressing lately, state authorities have admitted that it's difficult to proceed with their plans as they originally intended.

Aside from trying to use the soil in various state projects, others have suspected that some of the region might eventually be turned into a toxic dumping ground as a possible solution to the problem.

The state has insisted that the problems surrounding the Fukushima disaster are still far from over. They expect that it will take decades yet until they have removed all of the contaminated soil that they are concerned about within the region. The clean-up costs are estimated to be in the tens of billions, some estimates have placed it as high as $180 billion.

Pics:
Pixabay

Sources:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/04/29/national/fukushima-residents-fight-state-plan-build-roads-radiation-tainted-soil/#.Wuc9_aQvyUk
@doitvoluntarily/fukushima-cleanup-efforts-still-failing
http://www.newsweek.com/fukushima-radioactive-soil-might-be-used-build-new-roads-and-residents-are-not-906184
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38131248

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