(Let’s learn its overview) What is the Landfill Facility for the Specified Waste? (Vol. 1)

Hello, everyone. My name is Daichi, an expert providing the information on the radiation issues in an easy-to-understand manner.

In this article and the followings, the Landfill Facility for the Specified Waste will be elaborated.

This article especially covers overview of the facilities, as well as the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center, one of the 2 facilities for landfill for the Specified Waste.

In other words, this article responds to the following question(s)/request(s).

– What is the Landfill Facility for the Specified Waste?
– What is the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center?
– What kind of waste is disposed in the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center?
– How is the waste treated in the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center?

Table of contents of this article

I have been involved with the radiation-relevant issues, like the policy on the decontamination activities and the management of the Interim Storage Facility, after the accident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011.

I received a doctorate in the field of radiation, while working in Fukushima.

(Let’s learn its overview) What is the Landfill Facility for the Specified Waste? (Vol. 1)

When the treatment of soil and waste arising from decontamination activities in Fukushima Prefecture was elaborated in this article, the Landfill Facility for the Specified Waste was briefly covered.

This article covers the overview of the facilities, and a bit goes into detail of the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center, one of the 2 facilities for the landfill of the Specified Waste.

2 facilities for the landfill of the Specified Waste

The figure above is used in this article to describe the material flow of soil and waste arising from decontamination activities in Fukushima Prefecture.

The Landfill Facility for the Specified Waste is, as represented in the figure, the facility to landfill the Specified Waste (please refer to this article) with radioactivity concentration of 100,000Bq/kg or less.

The Specified Waste with radioactivity concentration of more than 100,000Bq/kg is supposed to be temporarily stored in the Interim Storage Facility.

Please refer to this article, this article, this article and this article, if you would like to more about the Interim Storage Facility.

One of the big difference between the Landfill Facility for the Specified Waste, and the Interim Storage Facility, is that soil and waste, which are currently stored in the Interim Storage Facility, are supposed to be transported out of the facility in the future, but on the other hand, the Landfill Facility for the Specified Waste is the final disposal site, and the waste is not supposed to be transported out of the facility.

There are 2 following facilities for the Landfill Facility for the Specified Waste:

– The Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center
– The Clean Center Futaba

In this article, the former: The Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center will be first elaborated.

What is the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center?

The Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center was originally a private waste disposal site, and it is located in Tomioka Town. (The access road is located in Naraha Town.)

The area etc. of the facility, which started its operation in 2001, are as follows:

– Area of whole facility: ca. 9.４ha
– Area of landfill site: ca. 4.2ha
– Capacity of landfill site: ca. 960,000m³
– Residual capacity: ca. 740,000m³

This facility was nationalized in April 2016, after long coordination with local authorities and people, to secure the landfill site for the Specified Waste generated after the disaster in 2011.

Landfill of the Specified Waste actually began in November 2017.

The major difference from the Interim Storage Facility, which is elaborated in this article,this article, this article and this article, is that this facility is used as the final disposal site.

Waste be to disposed in the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center

The categories of waste to be disposed in the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center, and scheduled time periods for landfill for each category of waste are as follows:

– The Waste in the Countermeasure Area (other than the Restricted Areas): around 6 years
– The Designated Waste (in Fukushima Prefecture): around 6 years
– Household waste (in 8 municipalities in Futaba County): around 10 years (till around Nov. 2027)

The Waste in the Countermeasure Area and the Designated Waste, are collectively called the Specified Waste.

For detailed information about the Specified Waste, please refer to this article.

Of the above-mentioned 3 categories of waste, the household waste generated in 8 municipalities in Futaba County, will be finally disposed of in the Clean Center Futaba, which is covered in this article, after the completion of landfill in the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center.

Methods for disposal in the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center

Then, how is the Specified Waste specifically treated in the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center?

The flow for the treatment is just briefly represented in the above figure.

First of all, the Specified Waste is transported from the storage sites (e.g. incineration facilities), by being packed in the containers for ground improvement, after it is confirmed, that its radioactivity concentration is 100,000Bq/kg or less.

However, radioactive cesium has a characteristic, that it is likely to be soluble, when it is adsorbed with fly ash, compared with soil particles.

Therefore, it is solidified in the cement solidification facility, and transported in the cubic containers.

These containers are transported to the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center, and during the acceptance procedure, radioactivity concentration is measured(estimated) and conditions of containers are examined.

Then they are landfilled in the landfill site, separately in the areas, for solidified containers and non-solidified containers, without opening the containers.

The rainfall coming into the landfill facility is released into the environment, after harmful materials are removed in the leachate treatment facility, and it is confirmed that radioactivity concentration is less than the criterion.

Detailed procedures are elaborated in this article.

Summary

This article covers the following 2 Landfill Facilities for the Specified Waste.

– The Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center
– The Clean Center Futaba

Of the 2 facilities, overview, kinds of landfilled waste and treatment procedures of the Former Fukushima Eco-tech Clean Center are briefly explained.

You can obtain detailed information about landfill project of the Specified Waste in this website.

By the way, above-mentioned contents are summarized in the following videos.

It would be appreciated to visit them at your convenience.

– Japanese version

– English version

You can read the same article in Japanese here.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

See you next time!