【英语国际】日本出现新辐射热点 考虑疏散更多居民

Japanese government officials said they are considering evacuating more towns affected by radiation, as recent monitoring data showed new 'hot spots' of elevated contamination farther away from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

'The government would like to come up with the safest and most conservative possible steps to deal with the situation, with residents' health in mind,' Tetsuro Fukuyama, the deputy chief cabinet secretary, said Thursday.

The reports of new towns threatened by radiation shows how, nearly three months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear disaster, the Japanese government is still struggling to determine the extent of the danger posed to its population, and how best to respond.

The possibility of additional evacuations was confirmed following a series of recent reports that showed the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant was more severe than earlier described. They have added to concern among residents near the plant and elsewhere that the government hasn't done enough to protect its citizens from the harms of radiation, particularly children.

Officials said the newly discovered contamination doesn't mean there are new problems at Fukushima Daiichi. They added that the high readings probably come from soil in the areas that absorbed radiation spread in the air and through rain during the early days of the nuclear disaster, rather than from new accumulation. The operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501.TO), has said airborne radiation has been brought under control.

The new hot spots are located well outside the existing evacuation zone of 30 kilometers, or about 19 miles, but are close to other hot spots outside of the radius where evacuation has already been ordered. These areas lie northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, where many residents have complained about a lack of clarity from the national government about how to respond to continuing radiation problems.

'We really wanted to see Prime Minister [Naoto] Kan show us a resolve that the government will take full responsibility for fixing the problems,' said Katsunobu Sakurai, mayor of Minamisoma City, where one of the newly found hot spots is located. 'Unfortunately, those of us who are on the ground have had to make our own judgments to reassure our people.'

日本政府官员说，他们正在考虑疏散更多受到辐射影响城镇的居民。最近的监测数据显示，远离受损福岛第一核电站(Fukushima Daiichi)的地方出现了污染加剧的新“辐射热点”。

Associated Press在日本东北部福岛县的郡山，难民们在一处避难所排队领取晚饭。日本内阁官房副长官福山哲郎(Tetsuro Fukuyama)周四说，考虑到民众的健康，日本政府希望采取最安全、最保守的可能措施来处理这个问题。

有关核辐射危及新城镇的报道说明，在3月11日地震和海啸引发核灾难的近三个月后，日本政府目前仍在努力确定这场核危机对本国民众构成了多大危险，应如何以最佳方式应对。

可能要疏散其它城镇的消息已得到证实，此前有一系列报道显示，福岛第一核电站事故比早先描述的更严重。这些报道增加了核电站附近和其它地方居民的担忧，他们担心日本政府在保护国民尤其是儿童不受核辐射危害方面做得不够。

日本官员说，新发现的核污染并不意味福岛第一核电站出现新问题。他们还说，很可能是这些地区的土壤导致监测读数较高，与辐射再次积聚无关，因为在核灾难爆发的最初几天，土壤吸收了散播在空气中的辐射，雨水也将辐射带入了土壤。福岛第一核电站运营商东京电力(Tokyo Electric Power Co.)曾说，空中辐射已得到控制。

新辐射热点位于现有的30公里疏散范围以外，但距离疏散半径外的其它辐射热点较近。日本政府已下令疏散这些热点的居民。这些地区位于福岛第一核电站的西北部，那里的很多居民都曾抱怨说，日本政府没有明确告诉他们如何应对持续的辐射问题。

南相马市(Minamisoma City)市长Katsunobu Sakurai说，我们以前确实希望看到首相菅直人(Naoto Kan)能显出日本政府会对解决核问题负全责的决心，但遗憾的是，我们这些身处核辐射地区的人只能靠自己判断，来安慰民众。新发现的辐射热点中，有一个就位于南相马市。