A town assembly in western Japan has held an ad-hoc committee to examine petitions urging the town to apply for a first stage survey by the government for selecting a final disposal site of high-level radioactive waste.
Japanese law requires the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear plants to be buried in a site more than 300 meters underground as it continues emitting intense radiation for a very long time.
The law also requires surveys to be carried out in three stages to select possible final disposal sites.
Three groups of Genkai Town, Saga Prefecture, on Monday submitted to the town assembly a petition urging the town to take steps so that it could apply for a first stage survey.
The groups consist of the local accommodation operators' association, the restaurant business association, and the disaster management council.
The town assembly on Wednesday held the ad-hoc committee with the attendance of four officials from the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan, or NUMO. The organization is in charge of selecting disposal sites.
An official from NUMO noted a first stage of survey, which is an assessment of the area based on scientific literature, was conducted in only two municipalities in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido. The official expressed hope to carry out the survey in as many places as possible.
A scientific map the government produced in 2017 estimates an unfavorable condition in the town, due to a possibility that mineral resources abundant in the town may be excavated in the future.
The NUMO official said the presence of minerals has not been confirmed in all the color-coded areas in the town on the map. The official stressed the need of the document survey to determine whether the town is suitable as a final disposal site.
The town assembly plans to hold the ad-hoc committee again on April 25 and a decision is expected to be made at a plenary session by the end of this month.