Despite fears of radioactive contamination, Osaka Prefecture is finalizing plans to begin incinerating 36,000 tons of tsunami debris from Iwate Prefecture next month.
The debris is scheduled to be burned in the city of Osaka's harbor district. The resulting ash will then become landfill on Yumeshima, or "Dream Island," a man-made isle in Osaka Bay that was once a proposed site for the city's failed 2008 Summer Olympics bid.
Originally, the prefecture was supposed to have begun burning the debris last spring. But local opposition due to fears the incineration would create highly radioactive ash delayed the start. Critics argued that even with special filters at the incineration plant, radioactive ash would still pollute the air, and that it was folly to bury the ash in the bay area.