(What is the SHRA? Future issues?) Restricted Areas (Vol. 3)

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

In this article and this article, with regard to the Restricted Areas, the changes overtime after its establishment to this date, after the accident of the Fukushima Daiichi NPS, the definition of the areas as well as overview and progress for construction of the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas were elaborated.

This article will cover measures for the remaining Restricted Areas, specifically, ‘the Specified Return Habitation Areas’ and future issues to be addressed.

In other words, this article covers the following questions:

– What is the Specified Return Habitation Areas?
– What will happen in the Restricted Areas toward the future?

Note: At this moment, there seems to be no specific official translation of 「特定帰還居住区域」 in English. Therefore, here the areas are called ‘the Specified Return Habitation Areas’ as a provisional translation.

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.

(What is the SHRA? Future issues?) Restricted Areas (Vol. 3)

First of all, the Specified Habitation Return Areas will be covered, followed by future issues for the Restricted Areas to be addressed.

What is the Specified Return Habitation Areas?

The Specified Return Habitation Areas are the areas, where return and reconstruction of people are aimed at, by lifting evacuation orders, in the Restricted Areas, but outside the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas.

At this moment, in the FY2023, decontamination activities necessary for the construction of the Specified Return and Habitation Areas will start in Okuma Town and Futaba Town, but in the other relevant towns and villages, the plans will be developed in sequence.

It is the same approach with the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas, for each municipality to develop the plan for reconstruction of the Specified Return and Habitation Areas, followed by endorsement by the prime minister, and decontamination and construction of infrastructures by the national government in the areas.

By the way, there are the following conditions for the endorsement of the plan:
– Radiation dose can be reduced to below a certain level;
– Life can be reconstructed in residences,　which constituted integrated life areas, where people lived before the accident;
– Public facilities can be constructed in a planned and effective manner; and
– The areas can be reconstructed and revitalized with the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas in an integrated manner.

Difference from the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas

Then what is the difference between the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas and the Specified Return Habitation Areas, although they are both the areas, which aim return of people, by lifting evacuation orders in the Restricted Areas?

It seems that there is not so much difference but is common for the scheme for endorsement of plan, as well as implementation of decontamination and construction of infrastructure by the national government.

If a particularly different point could be raised, in contrast to the fact that the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas could especially focus on the construction of new towns, the Specified Return Habitation Areas could especially focus on the intension of the people, who wish to return to their hometown.

In fact, when planning specifically the Specified Return Habitation Areas, the questionnaires to evacuees were used as references, to ask their intentions to return to their hometowns.

In this point, this blog will be updated, when new additional information is obtained.

Future issues regarding the Restricted Areas

If it is allowed to summarize the evacuation orders in the Restricted Areas, by including this article and this article, it will be described in the above figure (illustrative purpose).

So far, the evacuation orders have been lifted for JR Joban Line stations and surrounding roads in March 2020, as well as in the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas in 6 municipalities by November 2023.

From now onwards, decontamination activities and construction of infrastructure in the Specified Return Habitation Areas are planned to be implemented, but it is expected for the Restricted Areas still to remain.

The following figure represents the dimensions of the Restricted Areas, consisting of, for example, the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas.

Whole area of the Restricted Areas is around 337 km², but the area of the Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Areas occupies around 8%: around 28km² (on a population basis, it is approximately 70% coverage).

The area of the Specified Return Habitation Areas has not been determined, but even so, it is expected that a large number of areas will remain in the Restricted Areas.

The Restricted Areas, which are expected to remain, include a wide range of mountainous areas, where people had not lived since before the accident, as well as river.

Therefore, it will be discussed in the future, how much areas of the Restricted Areas will be decontaminated.

However, nevertheless, it is important to create the attractive areas in a step-by-step manner, where the people, who wish to return to their hometown, can actually do so, and in addition, it is also important create the areas which attract people to live there as many as possible.

Summary

As a recap, this article first covers the Specified Return Habitation Areas, which was newly established, followed by explanation about the future issues for the Restricted Areas.

The Restricted Areas are the last areas which have been left behind in the affected areas, and long-term measures will be considered and applied to, toward their reconstruction.

It would be appreciated, if you could keep yourself interested in the areas, and pay attention to media reports.

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!