Japan’s nuclear regulator on Friday approved a plan to release more than a million tons of polluted water from its Fukushima plant into the ocean, fueling China’s discontent.
This project has been embraced by the government and has received support from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but Tepco, the operator of the facility, has yet to persuade local communities to proceed.
The plan is to gradually discharge more than one million tons of water contaminated with tritium, a radionuclide that cannot be eliminated by current technologies, but whose sea dilution is already practiced at in-service nuclear facilities in Japan and abroad, into the Pacific Ocean. . . .
This tritiated water comes from rain, groundwater, and injections of water needed to cool the cores of several Fukushima nuclear reactors that melted due to the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
More than a thousand tanks were placed around the facility to store this tritiated water after treatment to remove other radioactive materials. But the storage capacity will soon fill up.
According to experts, tritium is dangerous for humans only in high concentration doses; As Tepco predicted, this was pre-excluded if it was thrown into the sea for several decades.
The IAEA also believes that this project will be carried out “in full compliance with international standards” and “will not harm the environment”.
Tepco plans to start operations in 2023 after the construction of an underwater channel to transport tritium water about one kilometer offshore.
However, the operator must seek prior approval from the Fukushima department and nearby municipalities as it tries to address concerns of local fishermen who fear negative consequences for their fish’s reputation with consumers.
The project has been criticized by its neighbors China and South Korea, as well as environmental organizations such as Greenpeace.
“If Japan continues to put its own interests before general international interests, if it persists in taking (this) dangerous step, it will surely pay the price for its irresponsible behavior and leave a stain on history,” the ministry spokesman said. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Wenbin on Friday
source: Noticias
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