Local authorities in north-eastern Japan are to remove radiation-tainted topsoil from school grounds amid the ongoing nuclear crisis so that children can resume outdoor activities, a news report said Tuesday.
The city of Koriyama in Fukushima prefecture is to get rid of the top 1 to 2 centimetres of topsoil from schoolyards this weekend, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The city is located about 50 kilometres west of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which was damaged by a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, and has been leaking radiation ever since, DPA reported.
The institutions subject to the move are 15 elementary and junior high schools and 13 nursery schools, NHK reported.
The city is to let these schools restart using their grounds for up to one hour daily after confirming their safety by measuring the level of radiation, the report said.
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