Japan too hasty in pulling plug on water storage

The volume of radioactive water that has been accumulated at the Fukushima nuclear power station since a meltdown after an earthquake-caused tsunami hit the nuclear power station in 2011 will be massive.

Japan can build more tanks to hold the water for a long time, or evaporate it into the air to minimize the environmental impacts, as the United States did with the nuclear-contaminated water produced at its Three Mile Island nuclear power plant after a meltdown accident in 1979.

However, without any third parties’ supervision or any international organizations’ authorization, and without consulting with any of its neighbors, the Japanese government has announced that it will discharge the radioactive waste water at the Fukushima plant into the sea.

Once the waste water is released into the sea, the world will be put into a blind box, and only time will tell what the consequences will be.

Given that the Tokyo Electric Power Company has repeatedly tried to hide the truth or play down the seriousness of the situation, it is justifiable for the Japanese people and international community to question its professionalism and honesty in claiming that the waste water will be “drinkable” after being processed.

Many experts from different countries have raised doubts about that as they point out that other kinds of radioactive substances will continue to exist in the water for a long time, even hundreds of thousands of years, after the company brings down the concentration of the radioactive tritium in it below the “national standard” of Japan.

Only the US has supported Japan’s move, saying its efforts to deal with the water are open and transparent. To pay back the US’ kindness, it is almost predictable that Japan will do its utmost to throw its weight behind the US’ future geopolitical gamble in the Indo-Pacific.

As such, to avoid dangerous consequences, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and other international bodies on marine environment and public health are obliged to set up a joint working team of experts coming from different countries to evaluate the feasibility of the Japanese government’s decision, and take all necessary measures to ensure the water is dealt with in the safest way.