Japan considers diluting reactor water in ocean

JAPAN’S economy and industry ministry has proposed gradually releasing massive amounts of treated but still-radioactive water at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant.

In yesterday’s draft proposal, the ministry suggested a controlled release of the water into the Pacific, allowing the water to evaporate, or a combination of the two methods.

The ministry said a controlled release into the sea was the best option because it would “stably dilute and disperse” the water from the plant using a method endorsed by the United Nations’ Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

In the proposal, the ministry said that evaporation has been a tested and proven method following the 1979 core meltdown at Three Mile Island, where it took two years to get rid of 87,000 tons of tritium water.

It would also facilitate monitoring of radiation levels in the environment.

Releasing the entire amount of water over one year would only increase radiation levels to thousands of times less than the impact humans usually get from the natural environment.

The proposal is meant to tackle a huge headache for the plant’s operator as storage space runs out, but fears of a backlash from the public – especially fishermen – remain high.

Nearly nine years after the 2011 triple meltdowns at Fukushima

Dai-ichi, the radioactive water is still accumulating as it is needed to keep the cores cooled.

For years, a government panel has been discussing ways to handle the crisis and to reassure fishermen and residents who fear potential health impacts from releasing the radioactive water as well as harm to the region’s image.