Residents of South Korea are rushing to buy salt and seafood due to Japan's intention to release water that was used to cool the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to IA "NewTimes.kz" citing Reuters. The water discharge from massive reservoirs into the Pacific Ocean is expected to occur soon.
Japan has repeatedly assured that the water is safe and filtered, although it contains traces of tritium, a hydrogen isotope that is difficult to separate from water.
People are concerned that after the release of a large quantity of radioactive water, seafood obtained from ocean waters may become unfit for consumption. This frenzy has led to an almost 27% increase in salt prices in South Korea in June compared to two months earlier, although officials also attribute it to weather conditions and decreased production.
South Korea has banned the import of seafood from the waters near Fukushima on Japan's east coast. China has also criticized Japan's water release plan, accusing it of lacking transparency and stating that it poses a threat to the marine environment and human health worldwide.
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.
Comments (0)