Mayor in Fukushima town reflects on costly trade-off of living near nuclear power plant
NIHONMATSU, Fukushima -- The cost of living near a nuclear power plant has proven to be much steeper than expected, the mayor of a town close to the stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant said in an interview with the Mainichi.
Tamotsu Baba, the 62-year-old mayor of the Fukushima Prefecture town of Namie, who was elected to his post in December 2007 after serving on the town and prefectural assemblies, said he was in a meeting at the town hall when the quake hit on March 11.
"I immediately went on the town radio system and called for residents to take refuge," he said.
In Namie's Ukedo district, located by the coast not far from the town office and home to around 630 households, 90 percent of houses and buildings were flattened, and approximately 200 people went missing. No progress has been made in the search for those people, however.
"The number of deaths in our town is still unknown because the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, which was found to be leaking radioactive materials, is less than 10 kilometers south of Ukedo," Baba said. This puts the town within an evacuation zone established by the central government.
According to Baba, after a hydrogen explosion occurred at the No. 1 reactor at the power plant on March 12, Namie residents who had evacuated to the town hall building and its environs tried to flee to a town hall branch office in the western part of Namie, more than 20 kilometers away from the power station. But heavy traffic on Route 114 turned what normally would be a 30-minute drive into a 3 1/2 hour ordeal.
"We tried to evacuate further west to Nihonmatsu on March 15, but some of the bus companies with which we'd made arrangements backed out from fear of radiation exposure, so we had to find other bus companies willing to drive our residents.
"Now, all Namie town hall functions are set up in Nihonmatsu, and we're working to provide assistance to Namie residents," Baba said.
At the time of the quake, Namie had a population of approximately 20,000, with some 17,500 living within a 10-kilometer radius of the nuclear power plant. Baba is worried about what awaits the town and its residents -- who are eager to go back to their homes and resume their lives.
"Even if the accident at the nuclear power plant is brought under control, how much of the town will be livable, and when? Many people farm, albeit as a side job, so we're concerned about soil contamination, too. Because fishing facilities and equipment were destroyed by the tsunami, there's the problem of securing employment for men in their 40s and 50s, the prime of their lives," Baba said.
According to Baba, Namie was one of several municipalities that received a government subsidy of 400 million to 500 million yen per year due to its proximity to the nuclear power plant.
"The trade-off," he said as he reflected on the quake and the ensuing nuclear crisis, "turned out to be overwhelmingly costly."
(Mainichi Japan) April 4, 2011
被災地から：原発１０キロ、捜索も無理 馬場有・福島県浪江町長
馬場有・浪江町長＝役場機能を移転した二本松市の市東和支所で２０１１年３月３０日午後７時、蓬田正志撮影
◇馬場有・福島県浪江（なみえ）町長
役場で会議中に揺れ、すぐに防災無線で町民に避難を呼び掛けました。沿岸部の中心地で、役場にも近い請戸（うけど）地区周辺では住宅など約６３０棟のうち９割が倒壊し、約２００人の安否が確認されていません。町の人的被害のほとんどがこの地区で、死者数は不明です。放射性物質漏えいがあった福島第１原発（双葉町、大熊町）は南へ１０キロもないため、捜索ができない状態です。
３月１２日に１号機が水素爆発したとき、役場などに避難していた町民は、それぞれ車で（原発２０キロ圏外にある町西部の）役場支所に逃げましたが、国道１１４号が渋滞し、普段なら３０分で行ける所が３時間半もかかりました。
１５日にはさらに西の二本松市へ避難しようとしましたが、手配したバス会社数社の中には「放射線が危ない」と言って来てくれない会社もあり、さらに別のバス会社に頼み込んで住民を乗せてもらいました。今は二本松市の施設に役場機能を置いて住民支援にあたっています。
町の人口は約２万人。原発から半径１０キロ以内には約１万７５００人も住んでいました。多くの町民が普通の生活に戻りたくても自宅に帰れず、事故が収束したとしても、いつから、そしてどのくらいの範囲で住めるのか分からず不安です。兼業ですが、農家が多いので土壌汚染も心配です。漁業施設は津波で壊れ、働き盛りの４０代、５０代の就労が課題になっています。
町には原発の隣接自治体への交付金として、国から年間４億～５億円交付されていましたが、代償は計り知れません。【聞き手・蓬田正志】
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■人物略歴
◇ばば・たもつ
浪江町出身。東北学院大経済学部卒。町議、県議を経て０７年１２月に町長に初当選。原発周辺自治体などで構成する「福島県原子力発電所安全確保連絡会議」メンバー。６２歳。
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