Japan panel: Best option is to release Fukushima water to sea

TOKYO — A Japanese government panel on Friday roughly accepted a draft proposal for releasing into the sea massive amounts of radioactive water now being stored at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant.

The economy and industry ministry's draft proposal said releasing the water gradually into the sea was the safer, more feasible method, though evaporation was also a proven method used after the 1979 Three Mile Island accident. The proposal in coming weeks will be submitted to the government for further discussion to decide when and how the water should be released.

Nearly nine years after t he 2011 meltdowns of three reactor cores at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant, it was a small step toward deciding what to do with the water and follows expert recommendations.

It is meant to solve a growing problem for the plant' s operator stuck between limited storage space for the water and an imminent backlash from the public and possibly neighboring countries.

Fishermen and residents fear possible health effects from releasing the radioactive water as well as harm to the region's image and fishing and farm industry.

The water has been treated, and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., says all 62 radioactive elements it contains can be removed to levels not harmful to humans, except for tritium. Experts say there is no established method to fully separate tritium from water, but it is not a problem in small amounts. Government officials also say tritium is routinely released from existing nuclear power plants around the world.

In Friday' s proposal, the ministry said the controlled release to the sea is superior because its traveling route is predictable and easier to sample and monitor. The method, however, could immensely impact Fukushima's still struggling fishing industry.

Some members said a release of the water should not be rushed or it would compromise Fukushima's reconstruction.

“We should put Fuk us him a' s recovery before anything else ,” said Takami Morita at the National Research Institute of Fisheries Science. “Local fishermen and residents cannot accept a release of the water unless Fukushima's recovery makes more progress.” Morita said demand for Fukushima fish has only recovered to less than onefifth of levels before the accident.