Japan will soon begin releasing treated radioactive water into the ocean following the approval of a controversial plan by the United Nations. This plan was developed over a period of 12 years after the Fukushima nuclear accident, CNN News has reported.
The plan for the release of purified wastewater has been under development for years, and the Minister of the Environment stated in 2019 that there were "no other options" as storage space for contaminated material was running out.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrived in Japan on Tuesday to visit Fukushima and present a United Nations safety review to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
However, the UN approval has done little to reassure concerned residents of neighboring countries and local fishermen who are still experiencing the consequences of the 2011 disaster.
Some question the findings of the IAEA, and China recently stated that the group's assessment "does not constitute evidence of the legality" of releasing wastewater in Fukushima.
The devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami damaged the power supply and cooling systems of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, resulting in the overheating of reactor cores and contamination of water inside the facility with highly radioactive materials.
Since then, new water has been injected to cool the remaining fuel remnants in the reactors. At the same time, groundwater and rainwater have seeped into the plant, creating more radioactive wastewater that now needs to be stored and treated. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the state-owned electric utility, has built over 1,000 massive storage tanks for what is now 1.32 mn metric tons of wastewater—enough to fill more than 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
However, storage space is quickly running out. The company claims that constructing additional tanks is not feasible, and they need to free up space to safely decommission the plant—a process that involves deactivating facilities, dismantling structures, and complete shutdown.
Radioactive wastewater contains some hazardous elements, but most of them can be removed from the water, according to TEPCO.
The real issue lies with an isotope called tritium, which is impossible to remove. Currently, there is no technology available for that purpose.
However, the Japanese government and the IAEA state that the contaminated water will be heavily diluted and released slowly over the course of decades. This means that the concentration of released tritium will be at or below the levels permitted by other countries and will comply with international safety and environmental protection standards, they claim.
TEPCO, the Japanese government, and the IAEA also argue that tritium naturally occurs in the environment, from rain to seawater, tap water, and even within the human body, so releasing small amounts into the sea should be safe.
In its report, the IAEA's Grossi stated that releasing treated water into the sea will have "negligible radiological impact on human health and the environment."
However, experts' opinions on the risk involved are divided. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission states that tritium itself is too weak to penetrate the skin but may increase the risk of cancer if ingested in "extremely large amounts." Meanwhile, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission acknowledges that "any radiation exposure can pose some risk to health" but adds that "everyone is exposed to small amounts of tritium every day."
Robert H. Richmond, the director of the Kewalo Marine Laboratory at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, is part of an international group of scientists working with the Pacific Islands Forum on assessing the wastewater release plan, including visiting the Fukushima site and meeting with TEPCO, Japanese authorities, and the IAEA. After reviewing the plan details, Richmond called it "reckless" and premature.
One issue is that diluting the wastewater may not be enough to reduce its impact on marine flora and fauna. Contaminants such as tritium can pass through various levels of the food chain, including plants, animals, and bacteria, and "bioaccumulate," meaning they will accumulate in the marine ecosystem, he said.
He added that the world's oceans are already under stress due to climate change, ocean acidification, overfishing, and pollution. The last thing it needs is to be treated like a "dumping ground," he said.
And the potential risks won't be limited to the Asia-Pacific region. A 2012 study found evidence that bluefin tuna carried radionuclides—radioactive isotopes similar to those found in Fukushima's wastewater—across the Pacific Ocean to California.
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