Local governments in Japan are bristling at suggestions that mountains of soil contaminated by radiation from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster be recycled.

Eight years after the disaster, crews are still scooping up contaminated soil.  It's believed there will be 14 million cubic meters of it by fiscal 2021, stacked up in storage bags in Fukushima prefecture.  Officials have long held that it would eventually be moved to a permanent storage facility outside the prefecture. 

Now, officials in Tokyo are proposing local government use some of it for public works projects, or for the foundations of roads and embankments.  This would only apply to soil with radiation levels below 8,000 becquerels per kilogram, which is the standard used by the Japanese government in classifying whether the waste material requires special treatment.

So far, Tokyo is proposing this for three towns in Fukushima prefecture.  Residents are responding by mounting petition drives and other activities to block the reuse of contaminated soil in their areas.  They also point out that such plans contradict the government's promises to store the soil outside of the prefecture.

People are also criticizing the Environment Ministry for its tests to determine whether using contaminated soil for land reclamation projects would prove detrimental to the health of local residents.  The tests began only a few months ago in August 2018.

"That is way too short to make such a judgment, considering the fact the soil will be buried for such a long time," said Masato Tashiro, who lives in one of the test towns.  "Residents fear their health may be impaired over the long-term."