Fukushima: Japan begins dumping polluted water from nuclear power plant into the sea

This is a disturbing project. This Thursday, Japan began dumping water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. According to live video feed from plant operator Tepco, the process was started shortly after 13:00 local time.

This first spill is expected to last about 17 days and affect about 7,800 m3 of plant water containing tritium, a radioactive substance dangerous only in highly concentrated doses. Tepco plans three more spills by the end of March, the volumes of which will be similar to the first. The water is pre-filtered to remove most of the radioactive material, with the exception of tritium.

1.3 million m3 of wastewater

In total, Japan plans to evacuate to the Pacific Ocean more than 1.3 million m3 of wastewater, which is still stored on the territory of the plant. This water comes from rainwater, groundwater and pumping needed to cool reactor cores that melted after the March 2011 tsunami devastated the northeast coast of the country.

Japan plans to release this water in advance at a significant dilution so that its radioactivity level does not exceed 1,500 becquerels (Bq) per liter. This level is 40 times lower than the Japanese national standard for tritium water, which corresponds to the international standard (60,000 Bq/liter). But it is also about seven times lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) ceiling for drinking water (10,000 Bq/litre).

Acting “extremely selfish and irresponsible”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which oversees the disposal operation, gave the green light in July, deeming the project met “international safety standards” and that it would have a radiological impact “insignificant to the public and the environment.” .

Environmental groups have criticized the Japanese plan, such as Greenpeace, which accuses the Japanese government of minimizing radiation risks.

At the same time, Beijing also condemned this action. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “the ocean is the common good of mankind.” Forcibly dumping contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea is a highly selfish and irresponsible act that ignores international public interest.” According to him, “the Japanese government has not proven either the legitimacy” of these discharges, “nor that they are harmless to the marine environment and human health.” Analysts say Beijing’s tough stance on the Fukushima water is likely also linked to the already tense Sino-Japanese relationship on many economic and geopolitical issues.

China suspends all seafood imports from Japan

At the same time, China announced the suspension of all seafood imports from Japan. Chinese customs indicated that the decision, made in the name of “food safety”, is aimed at “preventing the risks of radioactive contamination caused by the discharge of contaminated water into the sea.”

South Korean Prime Minister, who publicly supported Tokyo, Han Dak-soo, called on Japan to “transparently publish data on the impact of Fukushima water releases” over the next 30 years.

Japanese fishermen also fear that this will affect the image of their products, so the process started well. However, demonstrations against the dumping of garbage into the sea have already taken place in South Korea. But in Japan, as a sign of a certain obedience of the population, a protest rally on Thursday morning near the power plant gathered only … nine people, Agence France-Presse reports on the spot.

More than a dozen people were arrested for trying to “force” their way into the Japanese embassy in Seoul during one of those demonstrations, a police officer told AFP.

However, the discharge of tritium water into the sea is a common practice in the nuclear industry around the world, and the annual level of radioactivity from such discharges from Chinese nuclear power plants is much higher than expected at Fukushima, Tokyo noted.