Japan Begins Nuclear Waste Disposal Site Survey in Ibaraki

Tokyo, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)--Japan’s nuclear waste disposal body said Thursday that it has begun a literature survey in Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan, as part of the process for selecting a site for the permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan, or NUMO, will analyze geologic maps and other documents to assess potential risks from volcanoes and faults over about two years.

A similar survey by NUMO is already underway in Suttsu and Kamoenai, both Hokkaido, and Genkai, Saga Prefecture, as well as on Minamitorishima, an island in Tokyo’s Ogasawara chain in the Pacific.

Hitachiomiya Mayor Sadayuki Suzuki announced his agreement to the survey late last month.

The next stages are a preliminary investigation involving drilling and a detailed investigation that would involve building underground facilities. Advancing to either stage requires the consent of the local prefectural governor and other officials.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]