Japan will begin dumping more than one million metric tonnes of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean Thursday – a highly controversial move the government says is essential to shut down the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The Japanese government announced the decision Tuesday. The plan, approved two years ago by Japan as crucial to decommissioning the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), has faced criticism from neighbouring nations and local fishing groups, who fear reputational damage and a threat to their livelihood.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed TEPCO to be ready to start the coastal release Thursday if weather and sea conditions permit.
Japan has said the water release is safe, but some environmental activists have argued that not all the possible impacts have been studied.
Here’s what you need to know.
What’s happening?
Thursday’s dumping dates back to March 11, 2011.
A massive earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s cooling systems, causing three of its reactors to melt and contaminating the cooling water.
The water, now amounting to 1.34 million tonnes, is collected, filtered and stored in about 1,000 tanks, which fill much of the plant’s grounds and will reach their capacity in early 2024.
Junichi Matsumoto, TEPCO executive in charge of the water release, told The Associated Press last month that the release is “a milestone,” but is still only an initial step in a daunting decommissioning process.
The government and TEPCO have said the water will be treated and then diluted with seawater to levels safer than international standards. TEPCO plans to release 7,800 tonnes of treated water in the 17-day first round of the release, Matsumoto said.
TEPCO then plans to release 31,200 tonnes of the treated water by the end of March 2024, which would empty only 10 tanks at the site. The pace will pick up later.
The seawater and marine life will be tested and the results will be disclosed on government and TEPCO websites.
Why is it so controversial?
In a final report released in July, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found that the release, if conducted as designed, will cause negligible impact on the environment and human health.
After taking into account possible bioconcentration of low-dose radionuclides that still remain in the water, the environmental and health impact is still negligible, TEPCO officials said.
Most scientists support the IAEA’s view, but some say the long-term impact of the low-dose radioactivity that remains in the water needs attention.
Greenpeace said on Tuesday that the radiological risks have not been fully assessed and that the biological impacts of tritium, carbon-14, strontium-90 and iodine-129 – which will be released with the water – “have been ignored.”
The filtering process will remove strontium-90 and iodine-129, and the concentration of carbon-14 in the contaminated water is far lower than its regulatory standard for discharge, according to TEPCO and Japanese government documents.
Japan’s government will take “appropriate measures, including immediate suspension of the discharge” if unusually high concentrations of radioactive materials are detected, the document said.
What has reaction been like?
TEPCO has been engaging with fishing communities and other stakeholders and is promoting agriculture, fishery and forest products in stores and restaurants to reduce any reputational harm to produce from the area.
Fishing unions in Fukushima have urged the government for years not to release the water, arguing it would undo work to restore the damaged reputation of their fisheries.
China has called Japan’s plan irresponsible, unpopular and unilateral.
China is the biggest importer of Japanese seafood.
Shortly after the 2011 disaster, China banned imports of food and agricultural products from five Japanese prefectures. China later widened its ban to cover 10 out of Japan’s 47 prefectures.
China again imposed import restrictions in July after the IAEA approved Japan’s plans to discharge the treated water.
Striking a similar tone, Hong Kong’s leader said Tuesday that he strongly opposed Japan’s water release, and the city would “immediately activate” import controls on Japanese seafood.
The government of the Asian financial hub said Hong Kong’s ban would take effect from Aug. 24, the day Japan starts its release.
The gambling hub of Macau will also implement the ban from Thursday, covering goods from the same 10 Japanese regions.
Meanwhile, South Korea said on Tuesday that it sees no problem with the scientific or technical aspects of Japan’s plan, but it does not necessarily support it.
The administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol has faced a fine line over the issue as it seeks to improve relations with Japan, while the risk of a broader consumer backlash persists at home.
The country’s opposition Democratic Party, however, said on Tuesday that its “battle” to stop the release would continue, calling Japan’s plan “selfish and irresponsible.”
— with files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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