日本政府公告核电灾害20公里禁入区

生人迴避　福島核廠20公里內劃為「死地」

吳增煌

2011年4月21日 11:11

國際中心／綜合報導 

海嘯侵襲福島縣火力發電廠一瞬間，火力發電廠員工驚呼可怕。(圖／翻攝YouTube)

日本政府計畫於22日正式宣佈福島第一核電廠周圍20公里區域為「禁入警戒區域」，這就意味著，20公里周圍地區將成為無人的「死地」。此外，東京電力公司首次承認燃料棒已經熔解為液體狀。 

日本首相菅直人今天（21日）上午搭乘自衛隊的直升機飛往福島市，並與福島縣知事佐藤雄平舉行會談，在日本警方發現逾60個家庭仍住在核電廠疏散區後，正式傳達了政府的決定，這項禁令預計當地時間午夜生效。菅直人並訪問福島縣內幾處避難所慰問災區人民。 

3月11日，日本大地震發生後的第二天，福島第一核電廠發生核洩露事故，附近居民被緊急撤離，由於撤離時間緊迫，許多人無法帶走貴重物品，因此在近期有不少住民悄悄回家，甚至有人厭倦避難所的生活，乾脆回家居住。 

由於福島第一核電廠的核洩露問題依然沒有解決，放射量還是很高，為防止居民的健康受到影響，日本政府於是決定設置「禁入警戒區域」，以防止住民回家遭受核輻射。日本新聞網獲得的消息說，一旦設置為「禁入警戒區域」，任何人進入福島第一核電站周圍20公里範圍內均屬於違法，將受拘留並處於10萬日元的罰款。 

東京電力公司承認，福島第一核電廠一號反應爐內的燃料棒大部分已經熔解。該公司原子能與立地本部代理本部長松本純一20日在記者會上證實表示，「爐心的狀態還無法確認，但是無法斷定核燃料棒沒有熔解」。 

松本指出，原子爐內的核燃料棒應該呈現液體狀，在包裹管破裂的情況下，燃料棒會飛濺出來，這意味著燃料棒已經處於液體狀狀態。這也是東京電力公司首次承認燃料棒已經溶解為液體狀。 

核洩露污染漁類生鮮、蔬果，人體若吸收過量也會危及生命，日本市民團體「母乳調查與母子支援網路」20日發表的消息指出，該團體透過對福島等4個災區縣的9名女性的母乳調查，發現住在茨城縣和千葉縣的4名女性的母乳中，檢測出放射性碘131，的含量為1公斤36.3貝克勒爾（becquerel），由於國家沒有母乳中放射性物質含量的限定標準，因此還不知道這一含量的母乳是否適合嬰兒哺乳。

Japan has declared a 20km area evacuated around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant a no-go zone.

Yukio Edano, the country''s chief cabinet secretary, said on Thursday that the order would take effect from midnight local time on Friday (1500GMT on Thursday), and was aimed at preventing unrestricted entry into an area that has been largely deserted since an evacuation order first went out following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Under Japan''s Disaster Countermeasures Basic Law, anyone who enters the zone will be subject to fines of up to 100,000 yen ($1,200) and possible arrest. Before the measure was enacted, defiance of the government''s evacaution was not punishable by law.

"We beg the understanding of residents. We really want residents not to enter the areas," Edano said. "Unfortunately, there are still some people in the areas."

Edano termed the plant''s condition as "not stable".

"[The declaration] reflects a growing worry from the Japanese government that people have been getting into this area much too easily and without enough caution," reported Harry Fawcett, Al Jazeera''s correspondent in Sendai.

"The evacuation zone has been off-limits in terms of people living in their homes ... but police around the checkpoints bordering it haven''t been able to ... prevent people from coming in. All they''ve been able to do is take licence plate numbers and instruct people to get a radiation check when they come out."

Families still in zone

Almost all of the around 80,000 residents of the area had left when evacuation was ordered on March 12, but police say that more than 60 families are still living inside the affected zone. Our correspondent said many had returned to retrieve possessions or money from their homes.

Edano said residents would be allowed to conduct brief visits to collect their belongings, with the authorities allowing one person per household to return by bus for a maximum of two hours. The residents would be required to go through radiation screening, he said, though the details of the plan are still being worked out.

"We realise this is extremely inconvenient for residents, but we urge you to be patient," Edano told reporters in Tokyo.

Officials said that the no-go zone was meant mainly to limit people''s exposure to radiation and to control entry in order to prevent thefts. The government had earlier declared a 30km evacuation zone, and suggested that residents of areas further afield may also soon be told to leave due to the risk of long-term radiation exposure.

Government under fire

On Thursday, Naoto Kan, Japan''s prime minister, visited the region to meet with local officials and evacuees in order to discuss the setting up of the evacuation zone and the enforcement of its boundaries.

The prime minister, who has come under fire for the government''s response to the crisis, was also to meet with officials at a nuclear crisis management centre.

On Wednesday, however, Edano had suggested that Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the stricken nuclear plant, should have been better prepared.

"Aside from the question of whether the accident could have been predicted, there was not sufficient preparation based on an anticipation, and there is no mistake about that," he said. "We urge all nuclear operators to immediately take any possible precaution based on the lesson from the Fukushima nuclear accident, and not wait until details of the accident are examined."

Kan is due to meet Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister, later on Thursday. Gillard is expected to assure him that her country will remain a reliable energy resource for Japan.

More older people died

At the Fukushima plant, TEPCO began on Wednesday to pump out 25,000 metric tons of highly radioactive water from the basement of one of the turbine buildings. The process will take at least 20 days, nuclear safety officials say. In total, 70,000 tons of contaminated water will need to be disposed of from the plant and the trenches around it in a process that could take months.

Those conducting the dangerous repairs on the plant continue to face health concerns, Al Jazeera''s Fawcett reported.

"A doctor who visited the workers doing this very dangerous work says that their own health is now suffering, if not from radiation then certainly from the psychological stress they''ve been undergoing. Insomnia and heart conditions, he was talking about," he said.

More than 13,000 people were killed and tens of thousands lost their homes when the 9.0 earthquake and 15-metre tsunami hit Japan''s northeastern coast last month.

New data from the country''s National Police Agency shows that 65 per cent of those confirmed to have died in the disaster were aged 60 or older. The agency said that nearly 93 per cent of fatalities in the aftermath of the disaster were caused by drowning.

More than 130,000 people were in shelters at the start of this week, police figures showed.