原子力防災計画 政府の積極支援で整備を急げ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 21, 2013)
Local govts need support in compiling antidisaster plans
原子力防災計画　政府の積極支援で整備を急げ（3月20日付・読売社説）

Local governments near nuclear power plants are facing difficulties in drawing up antidisaster plans that stipulate how and where residents should evacuate after the outbreak of a nuclear crisis.
　原子力発電所の重大事故に備え、住民の避難方法や避難所を決めておく地域防災計画作りが、原発周辺の自治体で難航している。

We are seriously concerned about this problem.
　極めて問題である。

Without such plans, it would be difficult for local governments to properly evacuate residents during a nuclear emergency, putting residents at risk of radiation exposure.
　原発が非常事態に陥った時、計画が整備されていないと適切な避難誘導ができず、住民の被曝(ひばく)を防げない恐れがあるためだ。

While 21 prefectural governments and 136 municipal governments have been asked to draw up antidisaster plans, only 70, or less than half, have completed them, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
　対象自治体は２１道府県と１３６市町村に及ぶが、原子力規制委員会によると、策定済みなのは、半数以下の７０自治体にとどまる。

Under the NRA guidelines on nuclear disaster countermeasures, local governments were required to prepare nuclear emergency response plans within six months after the law to establish the NRA went into effect. This period ended Monday.
　計画は、規制委が示した原子力災害対策指針に基づき、規制委設置法施行から半年の１８日までに定めることになっていた。

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New guidelines

Although preparation of the antidisaster plans are not legal preconditions for restarting idle reactors, having feasible plans is necessary to obtain the understanding of local residents in bringing nuclear plants back online.
　原発再稼働の法的な条件とはされていないが、立地地域に再稼働の理解を得るためには、現実的な計画が求められる。

NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka has urged local governments to proactively compile antidisaster plans before the restart of halted nuclear plants.
　規制委の田中俊一委員長は「再稼働までに計画を設けてほしい」と取り組みを促している。

He also said plans already formulated by local governments will need to be reviewed. "We'll need to assess whether the plans really ensure safety," he said, indicating that the NRA will not leave the plans to the discretion of local governments.
策定済みの計画についても、「本当に安全に資するかどうか規制委として点検したい」と述べ、自治体任せにしない考えを示した。

Considering the importance of antidisaster plans in nuclear emergencies, we believe the NRA's stance is appropriate.
　計画の重要性を考えれば、もっともな見解である。

The NRA needs to avidly support the local governments' efforts in drawing up the plans, including securing the cooperation of government ministries and agencies related to disaster prevention if necessary.
　規制委は、防災関係省庁とも連携して、対象自治体の計画策定を積極的に支援する必要がある。

Local governments near nuclear plants are drawing up the plans based on NRA guidelines that incorporated lessons learned from the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
　関係自治体が計画作りで依拠すべき規制委の指針は、東京電力福島第一原発事故の手痛い教訓を踏まえて改定されたものだ。

The old guidelines, which were formulated before the disaster, did not anticipate a serious disaster at nuclear power facilities, and in retrospect did not reflect reality.
　事故前の古い指針は重大事故が起きることを前提としておらず、現実的なものではなかった。

As a result, confusion arose during the evacuation of residents around the Fukushima plant, with some remaining in areas with high radiation levels.
実際、避難で混乱が生じ、放射能の汚染地域に住民がとどまった。

The new guidelines, revised last month, expanded the areas required to take precautions against nuclear disasters, from an 8-kilometer to 10-kilometer radius around nuclear plants to a 30-kilometer radius.
　先月改定された新指針は、事前の対策を求める地域を従来の半径８～１０キロ圏から約３０キロ圏に拡大した。

The guidelines also state when evacuations should start, as well as requiring the distribution to residents of iodine tablets, which can help prevent radioactive substances from accumulating in the thyroid.
避難を開始する基準や、甲状腺被曝を防ぐ安定ヨウ素剤を事前配布することなども定めた。

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Preparation not easy

However, as the NRA guidelines were revised less than a month ago, local governments only had a limited amount of time to draw up their antidisaster plans before the Monday deadline.
　ただし、指針が改定されてから、まだ１か月足らずだ。計画の策定期限までに、自治体に許された作業時間はわずかだった。

As the guidelines have been significantly revised, it has not been easy for some local governments to comply with them. Many are struggling to decide on evacuation sites that residents can move to quickly after the outbreak of a nuclear crisis.
　大幅改定だけに対応は容易でない。速やかに避難できる場所をどこに確保すべきか。

As the radius around nuclear plants in which precautions need to be taken was expanded to 30 kilometers, an increasing number of areas subject to the guidelines now stretch beyond prefectural borders. In one area, there are nearly 1 million residents.
３０キロ圏に範囲が拡大したため、県境をまたぐ例も増えた。対象住民が１００万人近くに達する地域もある。

Municipal governments have asked the central government to establish a framework that would enable them to negotiate among themselves in compiling their respective antidisaster plans.
　市町村側は「自治体間の調整の場が必要」と求めている。

Some parties concerned also have called for the central government to take responsibility for measuring radiation levels during a nuclear crisis instead of local governments.
「緊急時の放射線測定は自治体でなく国が担うべきだ」との声もある。

There was a lack of coordination between the central and local governments in dealing with the Fukushima nuclear crisis after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The distribution of roles during nuclear emergencies is an important matter that needs to be dealt with.
　福島第一原発の事故で、政府と自治体は連携を欠いた。両者の役割分担について再検討することも今後の重要な課題である。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 20, 2013)
（2013年3月20日01時03分 読売新聞）