Japan on Tuesday said it had decided to gradually release tons of treated wastewater from the devastated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the ocean, describing it as the best disposal option, despite fierce opposition from domestic fishing teams and concerns from governments abroad .
The plan to release the water over two years was approved at a cabinet meeting of ministers early Tuesday.
Wastewater removal has long been delayed by public opposition and safety concerns. But the space used to store the water is expected to run out next year, and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told lawmakers on Monday that the release of the ocean is ‘inevitable’ and that it can no longer be postponed.
Greenpeace Japan denounced the decision, saying in a statement that it “ignores human rights and international maritime law.” Kazue Suzuki, a climate and energy campaigner for the organization, said the Japanese government had discounted the radiation risks.
“Instead of using the best available technology to limit radiation hazards by storing and processing the water in the long run,” the statement added, “they chose the cheapest option to dump the water into the Pacific Ocean. . ‘
The Fukushima crisis was kicked off in March 2011 by a major earthquake and tsunami that tore through northeastern Japan, killing more than 19,000 people. The subsequent collapse of three of the plant’s six reactors was the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Tens of thousands of people fled the area of the plant or were evacuated, in many cases never to return.
Ten years later, the clean-up at the disabled plant operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company is far from over. To prevent the three damaged reactor cores from melting, cooling water is continuously pumped there. The water is then sent through a powerful filtration system that can remove all the radioactive material except tritium, an isotope of hydrogen which, according to experts, in small doses is not harmful to human health.
There is now about 1.25 million tons of wastewater stored in more than 1,000 tanks at the plant site. The water is still rising at about 170 tonnes a day, and its release is expected to take decades.
In 2019, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry proposed to remove the wastewater by gradually releasing it into the ocean or by allowing it to evaporate. The International Atomic Energy Agency said last year that both options were ‘technically feasible’. Nuclear power plants around the world regularly release treated wastewater containing tritium into the sea.
But the Japanese government’s plan faces strong opposition from local officials and fishing crews, who say it will increase consumer fears about the safety of Fukushima seafood. The catch levels in the area are already a small fraction of what they were before the disaster.
After meeting with Mr. Suga met, Hiroshi Kishi, head of the National Federation of Fisheries, told reporters that his group was still opposed to the release of the sea. Neighboring countries, including China and South Korea, have also expressed concern.
The U.S. State Department said in response to Japan’s decision in a statement: “In this unique and challenging situation, Japan has weighed the options and consequences, been transparent about its decision, and appears to be adopting a globally accepted approach nuclear power. safety standards. “