Post-Fukushima cleanup is well-funded but confused

New York Times : The Japanese government has begun issuing contracts to rehabilitate the area most exposed to contamination from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant last March. The decontamination effort has already drawn criticism. Three construction companies with no expertise in radiation cleanup have been awarded the first contracts; these same companies helped build 45 of Japan’s 54 nuclear plants—including Fukushima Daiichi. Although the Japan Atomic Energy Agency said that most of the future work would be contracted by the Environment Ministry, company officials have indicated they expected to continue serving as primary contractors. Adding to the confusion are a lack of consensus on how best to rehabilitate the area and the tiered structure, typical of Japan’s nuclear and construction industries, in which subcontractors rely on untrained laborers to do the dirtiest decontamination work.