Japan to dump over 1 mn tonnes of treated Fukushima water into sea

Japan’s government decided Tuesday to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years — an option fiercely opposed by local fishermen and residents.

The decision, long speculated but delayed for years due to safety concerns and protests, came at a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option.

The accumulating water has been stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged its reactors and their cooling water became contaminated and began leaking. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., says its storage capacity will be full late next year.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the ocean release was the “most realistic” option and that disposing the water is “unavoidable” for the decommissioning of the Fukushima plant, which is expected to take decades.

TEPCO and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all other selected radionuclides can be reduced to levels allowed for release.

Some scientists say the longterm impact on marine life from low-dose exposure to such large volumes of water is unknown.

Under the basic plan adopted by the ministers, TEPCO will start releasing the water in about two years after building a facility under the regulatory authority's safety requirements. It said the disposal of the water cannot be postponed further and is necessary to improve the environment surrounding the plant so residents can live there safely.

TEPCO says its water storage capacity of 1.37 million tons will be full around the fall of 2022.

“JAPAN HAS UNILATERALLY DECIDED TO DISCHARGE NUCLEAR WASTEWATER

FROM THE FUKUSHIMA

POWER PLANT ACCIDENT

INTO THE SEA, WHICH IS EXTREMELY IRRESPONSIBLE AND WILL SERIOUSLY DAMAGE INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY AND THE VITAL INTERESTS OF PEOPLE IN NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES" CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY

"IN THIS UNIQUE AND CHALLENGING

SITUATION, JAPAN HAS WEIGHED THE OPTIONS

AND EFFECTS, HAS BEEN TRANSPARENT ABOUT ITS DECISION, AND APPEARS TO HAVE ADOPTED AN APPROACH IN ACCORDANCE WITH GLOBALLY ACCEPTED NUCLEAR SAFETY STANDARDS”

US STATE DEPARTMENT