2009 November 25 - December 1 [
ENVIRONMENT]
Meguro ward assembly demands removal of plutonium
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December 1, 2009
The Meguro Ward Assembly in Tokyo on November 30 unanimously adopted a resolution demanding that the prime minister and the defense minister remove plutonium kept in a Defense Ministry facility in the ward without delay.
The DM research facility has stored 32 grams of plutonium 239 for 37 years. The area around the facility has a lot of public establishments, including evacuation shelters for 100,000 residents of Meguro and Shibuya wards, hospitals, schools, and welfare institutions.
The resolution expresses concern about a possibility of earthquakes in the Tokyo metropolitan area, saying, “If an unexpected disaster occurs, the existence of such dangerous material nearby causes a great deal of anxieties among Meguro residents.” It also expresses “deep regret” over the storage of plutonium within the ward which has declared itself a city for peace.
In 1972, the former Defense Agency bought the plutonium in question from the United States to use as a source of neutrons for research purposes, but neglected to notify the Tokyo Fire Department of its possession of the nuclear substance in breach of Tokyo’s regulations.
In 1986, the late Japanese Communist Party representative Ueda Koichi revealed in the Diet that the DA had been conducting a radiation protection study in case of a nuclear explosion. The DA director general at that time made an apology for the violation of the safety code.
In June this year, the DA admitted that it still stores the material in Meguro, again causing great fear among the residents.
- Akahata, December 1, 2009
