Japan seeks support for release of nuclear water
TOKYO – Japan’s government adopted an interim plan Tuesday that it hopes will win support from fishermen and other concerned groups for a planned release into the sea of treated but still radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant.
The government decided in April to start discharging the water into the Pacific Ocean in the spring of 2023 after building a facility and compiling release plans under safety requirements set by regulators. The idea has been fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and Japan’s neighbors including China and South Korea.
Under the plan adopted Tuesday, the government will set up a fund to buy fisheries products and freeze them for temporary storage to cushion the impact from negative rumors about the discharge. The government will also help promote Fukushima products to restaurants and other food industries.
The government also plans to start raising fish in the water treated to levels allowable for discharge as part of a safety awareness campaign. Further details have yet to be decided.
The accumulating water has been stored in about 1,000 tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami damaged its reactors and their cooling water became contaminated and began leaking. The plant says its storage capacity will be full late next year.
Japanese officials have said ocean release is the most realistic option and that disposing of the water is unavoidable for the decommissioning of the plant. Government and TEPCO officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all isotopes selected for treatment can be reduced to safe levels for release.