Japan: Local Fish Production to be Monitored as Nuclear Wastewater Discharge Begins
In preparation for the discharge of cooling water from the abandoned Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Japanese government plans to monitor local fish production in order to address concerns about potential harm from the wastewater. The International Atomic Energy Agency has approved the discharge plan, but there are still doubts and controversies regarding its potential impact.
According to the Japanese economic magazine Nikkei Asia, the fisheries management agency will conduct radioactive tritium testing on aquatic products in relevant sea areas. The test results will be released within two days. The wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant cannot be filtered to remove the radioactive isotope tritium, so it must be significantly diluted before being discharged into the sea.
The International Atomic Energy Agency believes that Japan’s discharge plan will not cause harm to humans or the environment. The plan to discharge the wastewater into the Pacific Ocean is due to the lack of storage facilities for the cooling water at the nuclear power plant.
The stored cooling water at the Fukushima nuclear power plant currently amounts to 1.3 million tons, and the lack of storage facilities is affecting the progress of dismantling the plant. Additionally, the risk of leakage incidents from the water storage tanks is increasing. To address these issues, the Japanese government decided to build a one-kilometer-long tunnel for the discharge and estimates that the entire process will last for about 30 years.
Local fishermen in neighboring China and Japan have opposed the drainage plan, as they are concerned about its potential negative impact on their business. In 2015, the Japanese government promised the Fukushima Fisheries Association that it would not discharge wastewater into the sea without the consent of all parties involved. To gain their understanding and support, Japan has launched a seafood radioactivity testing program.
Japanese power company Tepco, operating the Fukushima nuclear power plant, said it will dilute the waste cooling water before the discharge until its tritium content drops to 1,500 becquerels per liter, which is one-fortieth higher than Japan’s national safety standard. Japan’s nuclear safety watchdog and the International Atomic Energy Agency have approved the discharge plan, stating that it complies with international standards.
The discharge of wastewater from nuclear power plants into the sea is a common practice in various countries. Despite the controversies and concerns surrounding the plan, the Japanese government aims to dispel these fears through the monitoring of seafood production and the release of test results.
Source: Deutsche Welle Chinese website, Nikkei Asia, German News Agency, Reuters