What they say
• Before releasing substances that may affect marine ecology into the ocean, Japan must conduct a series of treatments that meet a certain standard. And it is not Japan who has the final say on such a standard.
Professional organizations and individuals should constantly monitor how Japan handles the wastewater as well as track and evaluate various marine data over a long time.
The treatment of nuclear wastewater is an important area in which all the countries must work together.
Such cooperation can be strengthened in all fields, from ecology to the economy. All efforts must be made in dealing with this contentious issue. Jin Yongming, professor of maritime law at Ocean University of China
• The negative effects of draining the contaminated water will be obvious and far-reaching.
The water from the Japanese nuclear power plant cannot be completely cleaned of radioactive contamination even after decades. The isotopes of the atoms, no matter how the water is cleaned, will still exist in the ocean.
Some short-lived isotopes, such as radioactive iodine, could disappear. But uranium and thorium — more serious radioactive elements, they will get into the human body.
Japan made the decision by its own standard, but it’s not a standard for octopuses, or whales, or other marine life. Standards for the ocean, for individual animals, of which there are millions, have not been developed. For them, a small dose of isotopes is enough to kill them.
Vladimir Rakov, chief researcher at the laboratory of marine ecotoxicology of the Pacific Oceanological Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• The half-life of radioactive tritium in the contaminated water is not that long compared with certain other elements. If the water can be stored for a longer time, more of its radioactivity will dissipate.
An international consultation is especially necessary because the Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the plant, was found to have no credibility in coping with the accident. The situation would not have been so difficult if the company had avoided human errors on various occasions previously.
The company has already drawn much criticism for concealing information and misguiding the public.
So far, not enough information about the radioactive materials contained in the wastewater has been made public. The company has only revealed information on levels of tritium, which has a comparatively low radioactivity.
Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs
• The release of the radioactive wastewater into the ocean will unavoidably cause contamination, the dissemination of which is beyond any people’s control. So it’s a decision that cannot be made unilaterally just by one country.
The decision should be made not only based on consultation with neighboring nations but also by taking damage and long-term impact to the marine ecosystem into full consideration.
The impacts on environment and ecosystems should be fully evaluated to seek for the best solutions for this issue.
Zhou Jinfeng, secretary-general of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation