Outrage over Fukushima plan

The Japanese government decided yesterday to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, having determined it poses no safety concerns despite opposition from local fishermen and neighbouring countries.

The decision ends years of discussions on how to dispose of water accumulating at the plant after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a triple meltdown in March 2011.

The actual release of the water, which will be significantly diluted, will not begin for about two years as the utility, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc, requires time to set up facilities and receive approval from nuclear regulators.

Water pumped into the ruined reactors at the Fukushima plant to cool the melted fuel, mixed with rain and groundwater that has also been contaminated, is treated using an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS.

The process removes most radioactive materials including strontium and caesium but leaves behind tritium, which is related to hydrogen and said to pose little health risk in low concentrations. The water is being kept in tanks on the plant’s premises — more than 1.25 million tonnes in total.

Tepco expects to run out of storage capacity as early as fall next year, and the government had been looking for ways to dispose of the water.

“Disposing of the treated water is an unavoidable issue for decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said after finalising the decision in a meeting with members of his cabinet.

The plan will be implemented “while ensuring that safety standards are cleared by a wide margin and firm steps are taken to prevent reputational damage” for the fishery industry, he said.

The head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives, Hiroshi Kishi, voiced a strong protest against the decision, calling it “extremely regrettable” and “utterly unacceptable”.

China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement the move is “extremely irresponsible” and detrimental for neighbouring countries, while Taiwan’s Atomic Energy Council also voiced opposition.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has backed the plan.

AFP Demonstrators protest against the Japanese government’s plan to release treated water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, outside the prime minister’s office in Tokyo yesterday.