Tokyo’s controversial decision

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on April 13 announced that the Tokyo government has closed a plan to discharge radioactive wastewater from Fukushima prefecture to the Pacific, despite strong opposition both domestically and internationally.
March 11, 2011 became a haunting milestone, when Japan suffered a double disaster by a 9-magnitude earthquake and a historic tsunami that hit the northeastern region of the country, taking the lives of more than 18,000 people. The disaster also exploded the number 1 – 3 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, causing radioactive material to leak into the atmosphere and nearby water sources.

Hundreds of tanks contain radioactive wastewater outside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Photo: AP Since then, the authorities have used millions of tons of water to cool the reactors, and store waste water in giant tanks on site. 10 years have passed, the operator of the nuclear plant Tokyo Electric Power Co (TepCo) is now alerting the danger of running out of water storage space from the cooling process, estimated to reach a threshold of about 1.3 million tons of water. year 2022.
Environmental groups, including Greenpeace, have recommended the Tokyo government to build more tanks to keep water outside the plant, rather than opting for an ocean discharge option. Japan has considered several other options, such as evaporation or underground storage of contaminated water from factories. In the end, however, the Tokyo government decided to dilute the huge mass of polluted water and release it into the sea, when it found this option more technically feasible and cost-effective. The process is expected to begin in the next 2 years. Currently, all wastewater is filtered to remove most of the radioactive elements, but some dangerous substances remain, including Tritium, which has been identified as harmful to humans.
Evaluation of Tokyo’s solution, expert Ken Buesseler at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Falmouth, Massachusetts, noted: “Tritium is light and can float as far as the west coast of the United States within 2 years”. More serious problems are thought to lie in potentially dangerous radioactive isotopes in water, including strontium-90 and iodine-129. In theory, filtration can reduce their concentration, to about 70% for water that has not undergone secondary filtration. But scientists are not sure whether the actual filtration results are according to plan.
A poll conducted by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper in January 2021 found that 55% of Japanese respondents opposed the Tokyo government’s plan to discharge radioactive wastewater from Fukushima into the sea, while 32% said that they support. At the Tokyo government’s earlier hearing on the release of nuclear radioactive water into the sea, some industry and local representatives continued to oppose the decision believed to undermine efforts to revive the affected areas. disaster, blowing past efforts to restore the reputation for local products. “We will die from releasing polluted water into the oceans, as it could have a catastrophic impact on the future of the Japanese fishing industry” – Hiroshi Kishi, head of the Federation of Water Cooperatives National real estate said. Mr. Kishi emphasized that the discharge of radioactive water into the ocean may cause other countries to tighten restrictions on imports of Japanese seafood products, reversing the recent trend of loosening policies.
Japan’s April 13 announcement also immediately drew concerns in neighboring countries, including China and South Korea, about the possible impact on human health as well as seafood businesses. . Beijing calls for Tokyo’s “responsible” attitude, along with “prudent” disposal of nuclear waste, arguing that it involves “the interests of the international community and the vital interests of neighboring countries ”. Meanwhile, Seoul said that “it will be unacceptable if the Japanese side decides to discharge polluted water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant without full consultation”.