Japan isolated on plan for Fukushima water
Neighbors tell UN meetings of fears from dumping contaminants into the Pacific
Japan’s neighbors have stepped up their opposition to the country’s plan to dump at sea contaminated water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, airing their concerns at a United Nations forum on Wednesday.
China, the Republic of Korea and Russia were among countries that expressed dissatisfaction with Japan’s decision, announced in April, at the 31st Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.
“All countries have the obligation to abide by the provisions of the UNCLOS on the protection and preservation of the maritime environment, and jointly take care of the home that mankind depends on for survival,” Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the meeting.
“Recently, the Japanese government unilaterally decided to dispose of the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant by ocean discharge. China expresses her grave concern over this decision.”
Geng said the amount of radioactive water that Japan intends to discharge, the duration of the release, the sea area covered, and its potential risks are all unprecedented.
On April 13, the Japanese government said it would release more than 1 million tons of the contaminated wastewater from the tsunamidevastated nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean over the next 30 years, with the first discharge beginning in about two years.
Geng said studies have shown that once the radioactive water is released into the sea, it would quickly spread to most of the Pacific Ocean, and beyond.
Experts have pointed out that sea disposal is not Japan’s only option for the contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was destroyed by the tsunami in 2011. Methods involving processes such as hydrogen release and stratum injection can be considered, along with burying the water underground, they say.
Obligations ignored
According to international law, Japan must fulfill obligations, such as timely notification, full consultation, environmental impact assessment and monitoring, international cooperation and information exchange, said Geng.
Japan decided unilaterally to dump the contaminated water into the sea out of pure economic considerations, said Geng.
“This approach is opaque, irresponsible and unfriendly. It is maliciously intended, knowingly offensive and self-interested, and it runs counter to the consensus and momentum of the international community to protect and sustainably use the oceans,” he said.
He said that China strongly urges Japan to earnestly fulfill its international obligations and handle the issue of the contaminated water prudently in an open and transparent manner.
The ROK also highlighted the international dimensions in its presentation at the meeting.
“Disposal of contaminated water is an issue of global importance, as its impact on human health, the maritime ecosystem and the environment goes beyond boundaries and borders,” said Jongin Bae, the ROK’s deputy permanent representative to the UN.
“We underline that transparency, open and good-faith consultation with all stakeholders, including neighboring countries, and precautionary principle must be fully observed in making a decision having transboundary impact.”
A Russian diplomat to the UN said: “We share the concern stated by the representatives of the Republic of Korea and China when they were talking about the planned release of water from Fukushima One, a nuclear plant.
“We also share the opinion that it would make sense to have a comprehensive assessment of this by a specialized agency and also bilaterally with neighboring states.”
Japan’s decision to proceed with the sea-disposal plan was also condemned at another UN forum on Wednesday.
At a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Jiang Duan, the minister of the Chinese mission to the UN in Geneva, said the Fukushima accident had caused extensive leakage of radioactive material, which has had a profound impact on the marine environment, food safety and human health.
In a statement, Jiang called the Japanese action “extremely irresponsible”. “We noticed that a few special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council have expressed their concern on this issue,” he said.