IAEA sees no environmental risk
Japan is allowed to dispose of nuclear waste water in the sea
7/4/2023 1:16 p.m
Despite ongoing protests from local fishermen and environmentalists, Japan is to be allowed to dispose of the cooling water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in the sea. The effects on the environment are “negligible”, says IAEA boss Rafael Grossi. China and South Korea protest.
Japan’s plan to dispose of filtered cooling water from the Fukushima nuclear ruins at sea meets international standards, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). That’s what IAEA boss Rafael Grossi said to journalists in Tokyo. The planned release of the water would have “negligible” environmental impacts, Grossi said, naming the seawater, fish and sediment. Shortly before, he had handed Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida his authority’s final report on the plans for dumping the contaminated water.
The Japanese government will first study the IAEA’s assessment of its disposal plans before making a final decision on when to discharge water into the sea. She wants to start disposing of it in the Pacific this summer.
1.3 million tons of contaminated water
On March 11, 2011, a severe earthquake and huge tsunami caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant with core meltdowns. More than twelve years later, the destroyed reactors still have to be cooled with water. Due to infiltrating rainwater and groundwater, the amount of irradiated water is increasing every day. More than 1.3 million tons of it are now stored in around 1,000 tanks.
But now, according to the operator Tepco, the space is running out. The water is therefore to be filtered through a tunnel that extends around one kilometer into the sea and dumped diluted. However, the ALPS technical system cannot filter out the radioactive isotope tritium. According to Tepco and the IAEA, there is still no danger, since the water is diluted and small amounts of tritium are harmless to people and the environment. Experts point out that nuclear power plants all over the world have routinely discharged contaminated cooling water into the sea for decades.
Resistance from South Korea and China
However, local fishermen, who fear damage to their reputation and lost sales, continue to resist Japan’s disposal plans. There are also concerns in countries like South Korea, China and New Zealand about possible environmental damage from dumping. South Korea fears that the dumping will have negative consequences for the marine environment and human health. The government in Seoul has so far emphasized that it intends to stick to the import ban on fishery products from Japan until people’s concerns about the discharge of contaminated water can be dispelled.
China also rejected the IAEA’s decision. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told journalists in Beijing that the IAEA report did not allow Japan to discharge the water. It also does not prove that dumping is the safest and most reliable option. The spokeswoman said even before the report was presented by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in Tokyo, according to which the Japanese plans correspond to international standards. The Chinese spokeswoman called on Japan not to dump Fukushima cooling water into the ocean, to study other plans, to dispose of it “in a scientific and safe manner” while accepting strict international monitoring.