Dumping reactor water ‘extremely irresponsible’
Chinese experts slam Japan’s decision to discharge radioactive substances into Pacific Ocean
Chinese experts have condemned Japan’s unilateral decision to discharge contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean, calling it “extremely irresponsible”.
Dumping the contaminated water that resulted from the 2011 accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant is not Japan’s only option, said Liu Senlin, a researcher with the China Institute of Atomic Energy.
Japan’s decision is extremely irresponsible, Liu said. The choice, which involves the lowest economic cost to Japan, was made before seeking consensus with the international community and stakeholders, and before exhausting all available options.
Liu said there are many other options for wastewater disposal which include burying it underground or evaporating it into the air, but Japan opted for the cheapest plan.
“The decision passes the responsibility that should be borne by Japan itself to the whole world, setting a very bad precedent,” he noted.
The ultimate responsibility for
ensuring safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management rests with the state, he said.
Japan must implement prudent measures in a manner that takes responsibility for its own people and
the international community, said Liu, adding it should choose the best disposal method with participation and supervision from stakeholders.
It is also doubtful that Japan’s treated reactor water truly meets discharge standards, said Zhao Chengkun, an expert with the China Nuclear Energy Association.
As of the end of 2019, more than 70 percent of the wastewater still exceeded Japan’s discharge standards after treatment, said a report from an organization researching the treatment of reactor water from the Fukushima nuclear accident.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator handling the water from the Fukushima accident, also has a record of covering up and falsifying information, Zhao said.
Liu Xinhua, a researcher with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, added there is a fundamental difference between wastewater from Fukushima and liquid effluents from the normal operation of nuclear power plants in terms of source, radionuclide type and processing difficulty. The liquid waste to be discharged after the accident contains radionuclides and extremely toxic transuranic elements such as plutonium and americium. Liquid effluents discharged normally from nuclear power plants do not directly come in contact with the fuel pellets and barely have the transuranic elements, Liu said.
Meanwhile, Japan banned shipments of black rockfish from Fukushima on April 19, after a radioactive substance in the fish was found to be more than five times higher than acceptable levels.
The Fukushima prefectural government said 270 becquerels of radioactive cesium were detected per kilogram of the black rockfish, which had been caught at a depth of 37 meters near the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima, on April 1.
The amount of radioactive cesium is five times the limit set by a local fisheries cooperative of 50 becquerels per kg. It is also much higher than Japan’s national standard in general foods of 100 becquerels per kg.
Japan’s national nuclear emergency response headquarters ordered a ban on the fish in response.
Early in February, radioactive cesium 10 times above permitted levels in Japan were detected in the same area.