■ 英語原文
はこちら≫ November 1, 2011, 5:55 PM JST Lawmaker Takes Acid Test on Fukushima Water
By Yoree Koh Being a politician can be a thankless job requiring unique talents, especially for those overseeing the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. But after a stunt at a Monday press conference, one Japanese lawmaker set a tough precedent for his colleagues: must be willing to drink water taken from a puddle inside a nuclear plant.
With TV cameras rolling, the parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office, Yasuhiro Sonoda, downed a glass of water originally taken from a puddle located inside the building that houses reactors No. 5 and 6 at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant in an apparent attempt to prove that progress is being made in the plant clean-up work. It wasn’t to quench his thirst. In a tense scene that might have seemed more appropriate in an episode of “Fear Factor” rather than under the unflattering fluorescent lights in the briefing room at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s headquarters, Mr. Sonoda finished the glass in two swift gulps as a way to show the water ? that had been through a process to decontaminate it of radioactive elements ? was safe enough to drink. (See the video here at about minute 6:30) Having downed it, even Mr. Sonoda seemed aware that his action might conceivably be taken for little more than a stunt. “Just drinking (the treated water) does not mean safety has been confirmed. I know that,” he said. “The best way is to present data to the public.” Prior to the big swigs, Mr. Sonoda had attempted to do just that, reading off a report card of test results that deemed the water safe to imbibe: Cesium-134 and 137, as well as alpha and beta radiation were not detected in the water. Yes, there was a small amount of tritium, but, the lawmaker explained, at a level in line with the guidance levels recommended by the World Health Organization for drinking water. The damages incurred on March 11 at reactors 5 and 6 weren’t as severe as those that hit the other four at the plant. So why drink the water? The stunt was the culmination of multiple requests by journalists attending Mr. Sonoda’s regular news conferences to put his money where his mouth is. The water in question has been a sticking point at recent briefings. As one of the major pillars of its cleanup efforts, Tepco has been removing radioactive cesium from pooled water left behind the March 11 tsunami inside reactor buildings. But with temporary storage facilities approaching full capacity, the utility company said Oct. 7 it would start using treated water taken from close to the Nos. 5 and 6 reactors to spray on nearby trees to control dust movements and prevent potential fires. To prove its safety, “Would you at the least drink a glass of the water?” asked freelance journalist Yu Terasawa at an Oct. 13 news conference. Mr. Terasawa noted that other lawmakers in leadership positions have similarly obliged: former Prime Minister Naoto Kan and then-chief government spokesman Yukio Edano both ate produce from Fukushima prefecture to reassure the public the food is safe to eat. In response, Mr. Sonoda readily stepped up to the plate: “I don’t want it to be taken as some kind of performance,” he said Oct. 13. “But if that’s the best way to show the water is safe, then I won’t mind drinking the water right here, in front of everyone, at any time.” (See live video here at about 58:00) Three and a half weeks later, he duly obliged.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Yasuhiro Sonoda drinks a glass of decontaminated water taken from puddles at Fukushima Daiichi during a press conference at Tokyo Electric Power Co. headquarters on Oct. 31.