Japan has initiated the release of water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster site, despite concerns from neighboring countries and public outcry. The Japanese government approved the final greenlight for the plan on Wednesday, and the release began at 1:03pm local time on Thursday.
The first batch of water to be removed is approximately 7,800 cubic meters, and it will be discharged into the Pacific Ocean over a period of 17 days. This will be followed by three additional releases of the same volume before March 2024. Currently, there are over 1.3 million cubic meters of water stored at the site in more than 1,000 large tanks.
The water being released was used to cool down the damaged nuclear reactors after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. According to Tokyo, the water has undergone treatment to remove most of the radioactive contamination before being released to decommission the power plant. However, the treatment process does not remove tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The Japanese government has reported that the level of tritium in the discharged water will be around 190 becquerels per liter, which is below the safety level set by the World Health Organization.
While the Japanese government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) consider the plan to be safe, concerns remain in the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin criticized Japan’s decision, calling it “extremely selfish and irresponsible.” As a response, Beijing has banned Japanese seafood caught in and around the Fukushima prefecture, and similar import restrictions were already in place in South Korea. Despite vouching for the safety of the Japanese course of action, South Korea has decided to maintain the import restrictions.
Environmental group Greenpeace has accused Japan of “deliberate pollution of the Pacific Ocean” and has dismissed the claim that the water needs to be released for decommissioning purposes. The group argues that keeping the water stored would have been a better option.
The Japanese plan has also been approved by the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, which stated that the effect of tritium on the environment would be negligible. However, the concerns of neighboring countries and environmental groups highlight the need for continued monitoring and transparency regarding the discharge of radioactive water into the ocean.
In conclusion, the release of water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster site has begun, despite criticism and concerns from neighboring countries and environmental groups. The Japanese government maintains that the water has undergone treatment to remove most radioactive contamination and that the release is necessary for decommissioning the power plant. However, skepticism and import restrictions from neighboring countries demonstrate the ongoing need for transparency and monitoring in this process.
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