Gov't to buy land around damaged Fukushima plant for waste storage

The government plans to acquire about 19 square kilometers of land chiefly around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to build facilities for the long-term storage of radioactive and other waste piling up in the decontamination process, the Environment Ministry said Saturday.

The plan was unveiled as Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara and Reconstruction Minister Takumi Nemoto visited Fukushima to ask local authorities to accept the construction of storage facilities in the four local towns hosting Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s two nuclear plants.

The government will also take legislative action to ensure that the final disposal of waste will take place outside the prefecture within 30 years of the start of storage, if local consent is given, the ministers promised local leaders.
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