24-8-2023 (TOKYO) Japan commenced the discharge of wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday (Aug 24), an operation it maintains is safe but has incited strong objections from China.
This release marks a significant step in the decommissioning process of the still perilous site, 12 years after one of the world’s most catastrophic nuclear disasters.
Live video provided by the plant operator TEPCO revealed engineers monitoring computer screens, and an official announced – following a countdown – the opening of the “valves near the seawater transport pumps.”
Monitors from the UN atomic watchdog, which has endorsed the plan, were expected to be on site during the procedure, while TEPCO workers were scheduled to collect water samples later on Thursday.
Prior to the operation, approximately 10 people staged a protest near the site, and around 100 others gathered outside TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo, according to AFP journalists.
“It’s like dumping an atomic bomb in the ocean. Japan is the first country that was attacked with an atomic bomb in the world, and the prime minister of the country made this decision,” remarked Kenichi Sato, 68.
China’s environment ministry criticised Japan’s plan as “extremely selfish and irresponsible,” pledging to “track and study” its impact on its waters.
With approximately 1,000 steel containers holding the water, TEPCO has cited the necessity to create space for the removal of highly radioactive nuclear fuel and debris from the damaged reactors.
Following a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that claimed approximately 18,000 lives, three of the reactors at the Fukushima-Daiichi facility in northeastern Japan suffered meltdowns.
Since then, TEPCO has accumulated 1.34 million cubic metres of contaminated water, which includes cooling water from the wrecked reactors, along with groundwater and rainwater seepage.
TEPCO is planning four releases of treated water from Thursday until March 2024, with the initial discharge taking approximately 17 days.
This fiscal year, about 5 trillion becquerels of tritium, a measure of radioactivity, will be released, according to TEPCO. Japan asserts that all radioactive elements except tritium have been filtered out, with tritium levels considered harmless and lower than those discharged by operational nuclear power plants, even in China. This perspective is supported by most experts.
Tom Scott from the University of Bristol in England noted, “When released into the Pacific, the tritium is further diluted into a vast body of water and would quickly get to a radioactivity level which is not discernibly different from normal seawater.”
Nonetheless, not everyone is convinced. Greenpeace has criticized the filtration process, and China and Russia have suggested vaporizing the water and releasing it into the atmosphere instead.
China has accused Japan of treating the Pacific as a “sewer,” and even before the release, Beijing had banned food imports from 10 out of 47 Japanese prefectures and imposed radiation checks. Hong Kong and Macau, both Chinese territories, followed suit this week.
Restaurants in Beijing and Hong Kong, which serve sushi and sashimi, are already grappling with the restrictions. Jasy Choi, a Hong Kong caterer, noted, “About 80 per cent of the seafood products we use come from Japan.”
While China may have legitimate safety concerns, analysts suggest that its strong reaction is also influenced by economic rivalry and tense relations with Japan. South Korea, which is seeking to improve ties with Japan, has not objected to the release, although many ordinary citizens are apprehensive and have staged protests. False claims and doctored images regarding the release have circulated on social media in China and South Korea, including claims of deformed fish linked to Fukushima.