The Japanese city of Fukushima, whose nuclear power plant was badly damaged by a magnitude-9 earthquake, has now revealed a plan to clean every building and road of radiation, a British newspaper reported.
The local government said the plan to scrub every building and road clean of radioactivity may take up to 20 years, the Daily Telegraph reported from Tokyo.
“We are drawing up a plan to clean our city and the first phase of the project will be announced early next month,” said Akane Saito, a spokeswoman for the city government.
The cost of the two-decade clean-up operatioon is likely to run into billions of yen.
Authorities are hoping to receive funding from the national government and the Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the crippled nuclear plant.
An 18-mile exclusion zone has been declared around the plant, where emergency teams are working around the clock to keep the plant reactors cool and contain further leaks of radioactivity.
However, radioactivity has gone well beyond the no-go zone. At least 10 children from Fukushima had urine samples tested for radioactivity and came back positive.
“Of course I am worried about the radiation and we have no idea how it will affect us, but I’m not thinking about leaving as this is my home town and this is my job,” Saito said. “It is my responsibility to work for the people of the city.”
The decontamination plan proposes using high-power hoses to wash the exteriors of buildings and then collect and dispose the radioactive debris and contaminated water.
Surface soil will also be collected from schools, hospital grounds, parks and other public facilities.