TOKYO (AP) – The Japanese government announced on Tuesday that it would begin releasing treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from the two-year-old Fukushima nuclear plant. It is a measure fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and neighbors of Japan.
The decision, which has been speculated for years but delayed for years due to security concerns and protests, came during a cabinet ministers meeting that approved ocean release as the best option.
The accumulated water has been stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged its reactors and the cooling water became contaminated and began to leak. The plant’s storage capacity will be completed by the end of next year.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said ocean release was the most realistic option and that water should be available to complete the dismantling of the Fukushima plant for decades. He said the government would work to ensure water is safe and to help local agriculture, fishing and tourism.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all other selected radionuclides can be reduced to release levels. . Some scientists say the long-term impact on marine life due to exposure to low doses to such large volumes of water is unknown.
The government emphasizes water safety, calling it “treated” and not “radioactive,” although radionuclides can only be reduced to single-use levels, not zero. The amount of radioactive material that would remain in the water is unknown.
The release of water into the ocean was described as the most realistic solution by a government group that for nearly seven years had debated how to dispose of water. Last year’s report mentioned evaporation as a less desirable option.
According to the basic plan adopted by the ministers on Tuesday, TEPCO will start releasing water in about two years after building a facility and drawing up release plans that meet safety requirements. He said that the removal of water can no longer be postponed and that it is necessary to improve the environment surrounding the plant so that residents can live there safely.
Residents, fisheries officials and environmental groups issued statements denouncing the decision as ignoring environmental safety and health and further damaging Fukushima’s image and economy.
Japan Fisheries Cooperatives President Hiroshi Kishi said the decision less than a week after meeting with Suga “stepped on” all Japanese fishing operators.
Local fisheries have just returned to full operation after a decade in which their catches were only made for testing purposes and are struggling due to declining demand.
Protesters gathered outside the prime minister’s office to demand that the plan be withdrawn.
TEPCO claims that its 1.37 million tonne water storage capacity will be full by the autumn of 2022. In addition, the area now full of storage tanks should be used for the new ones. buildings needed to remove debris from outside the reactors and for other decommissioning work in the coming years.
In the decade since the tsunami disaster, water intended to cool nuclear material has constantly escaped from damaged primary containment vessels in the basements of reactor buildings. To compensate for the loss, more water has been pumped into the reactors to continue cooling the molten fuel. The water is also pumped and treated, part of which is recycled as cooling water and the rest is stored in 1,020 tanks that now contain 1.25 million tonnes of radioactive water.
These tanks, which take up a large space in the plant, interfere with the safe and steady progress of dismantling, said Economy and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama. The tanks could also be damaged and leaked in the event of another powerful earthquake or tsunami, according to the report.
Approximately 70% of the water in the tanks is contaminated beyond the discharge limits, but will be re-filtered and diluted with seawater before being released, according to the report. According to a preliminary estimate, the gradual release of water will take almost 40 years, but will be completed before the plant is completely out of service.
The chairman of the Japan Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Toyoshi Fuketa, has repeatedly called for an ocean discharge, saying a controlled release of properly treated water would not cause any human or environmental damage.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a video message that the discharge of the ocean was in line with international practice, although “the large amount of water at the Fukushima plant it makes it a unique and complex case “.
He said the IAEA will give full support to Japan in environmental monitoring to ensure the security of water release, its transparency and trust inside and outside the country.
China and South Korea reacted strongly to Tuesday’s decision.
Koo Yun-cheol, minister of South Korea’s Government Policy Coordination Office, said the plan was “absolutely unacceptable” and urged Japan to reveal how water is treated and its safety checked. South Korea has banned imports of fish and seafood from parts of Japan since 2013 and could increase those steps.
China criticized Japan’s decision as “extremely irresponsible”, saying it had not considered the health concerns of neighboring countries.
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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.