Japan Considers Evacuating More Towns

日本出現新輻射熱點 考慮疏散更多居民

日

本政府官員說﹐他們正在考慮疏散更多受到輻射影響城鎮的居民。最近的監測數據顯示﹐遠離受損福島第一核電站(Fukushima Daiichi)的地方出現了污染加劇的新“輻射熱點”。

Associated Press

在日本東北部福島縣的郡山﹐難民們在一處避難所排隊領取晚飯。

日本內閣官房副長官福山哲郎(Tetsuro Fukuyama)週四說﹐考慮到民眾的健康﹐日本政府希望採取最安全、最保守的可能措施來處理這個問題。

有關核輻射危及新城鎮的報道說明﹐在3月11日地震和海嘯引發核災難的近三個月後﹐日本政府目前仍在努力確定這場核危機對本國民眾構成了多大危險﹐應如何以最佳方式應對。

可能要疏散其它城鎮的消息已得到證實﹐此前有一系列報道顯示﹐福島第一核電站事故比早先描述的更嚴重。這些報道增加了核電站附近和其它地方居民的擔憂﹐他們擔心日本政府在保護國民尤其是兒童不受核輻射危害方面做得不夠。

日 本官員說﹐新發現的核污染並不意味福島第一核電站出現新問題。他們還說﹐很可能是這些地區的土壤導致監測讀數較高﹐與輻射再次積聚無關﹐因為在核災難爆發 的最初幾天﹐土壤吸收了散播在空氣中的輻射﹐雨水也將輻射帶入了土壤。福島第一核電站運營商東京電力(Tokyo Electric Power Co.)曾說﹐空中輻射已得到控制。

新輻射熱點位於現有的30公里疏散範圍以外﹐但距離疏散半徑外的其它輻射熱點較近。日本政府已下令疏散這些熱點的居民。這些地區位於福島第一核電站的西北部﹐那裡的很多居民都曾抱怨說﹐日本政府沒有明確告訴他們如何應對持續的輻射問題。

南 相馬市(Minamisoma City)市長Katsunobu Sakurai說﹐我們以前確實希望看到首相菅直人(Naoto Kan)能顯出日本政府會對解決核問題負全責的決心﹐但遺憾的是﹐我們這些身處核輻射地區的人只能靠自己判斷﹐來安慰民眾。新發現的輻射熱點中﹐有一個就 位於南相馬市。

Yuka Hayashi

Japanese government officials said they are considering evacuating more towns affected by radiation, as recent monitoring data showed new 'hot spots' of elevated contamination farther away from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

'The government would like to come up with the safest and most conservative possible steps to deal with the situation, with residents' health in mind,' Tetsuro Fukuyama, the deputy chief cabinet secretary, said Thursday.

The reports of new towns threatened by radiation shows how, nearly three months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear disaster, the Japanese government is still struggling to determine the extent of the danger posed to its population, and how best to respond.

The possibility of additional evacuations was confirmed following a series of recent reports that showed the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant was more severe than earlier described. They have added to concern among residents near the plant and elsewhere that the government hasn't done enough to protect its citizens from the harms of radiation, particularly children.

Officials said the newly discovered contamination doesn't mean there are new problems at Fukushima Daiichi. They added that the high readings probably come from soil in the areas that absorbed radiation spread in the air and through rain during the early days of the nuclear disaster, rather than from new accumulation. The operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501.TO), has said airborne radiation has been brought under control.

The new hot spots are located well outside the existing evacuation zone of 30 kilometers, or about 19 miles, but are close to other hot spots outside of the radius where evacuation has already been ordered. These areas lie northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, where many residents have complained about a lack of clarity from the national government about how to respond to continuing radiation problems.

'We really wanted to see Prime Minister [Naoto] Kan show us a resolve that the government will take full responsibility for fixing the problems,' said Katsunobu Sakurai, mayor of Minamisoma City, where one of the newly found hot spots is located. 'Unfortunately, those of us who are on the ground have had to make our own judgments to reassure our people.'

Yuka Hayashi