(Reuters) - Japanese officials in towns around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant reacted guardedly to plans announced on Saturday to build facilities to store radioactive waste from the clean-up around the plant within three years.
Saturday's announcement, seven months after the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years, came as towns near the plant are still coping with health fears and disputes over where to store huge amounts of unwanted waste.
"We cannot proceed without cooperation of the prefecture and municipalities. We are very sorry to ask for this, but we hope you will understand," Environment Minister Goshi Hosono told Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato, Kyodo news agency reported.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 240 km (150 miles) northeast of Tokyo, was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami in March.
The plume of radioactive materials that leaked from the plant was carried by wind and deposited widely in eastern Japan with rain and snow.
Japan aims to halve radiation over two years in places contaminated by the crisis. To do so, it may have to remove and dispose of massive amounts of radioactive soil, possibly enough to fill 23 baseball stadiums.
Towns near the crippled nuclear plant have barely been able to start cleaning up until now because they have been unable to convince residents about where to store the radioactive waste.
Hosono said it would take about three years to build facilities to store soil and other waste containing radioactive materials, mainly cesium, for up to 30 years.....Local authorities would have to keep the contaminated waste in their towns until the facility is ready.