The U.N. nuclear agency has given its endorsement to Japan’s planned release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, saying it meets international standards and its environmental and health impact would be negligible.
The plan is opposed by groups in South Korea, China and some Pacific Island nations because of safety concerns and political reasons. Local fishing organizations are worried that their reputation will be damaged even if their catch isn't contaminated.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, submitted its final assessment of the plan to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday. The report is a “comprehensive, neutral, objective, scientifically sound evaluation," Grossi said. "We are very confident about it.”
The report said IAE A recognizes the discharge “has raised societal, political and environmental concerns, associated with the radiological aspects.” However, it concluded that the water release as currently planned “will have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.”
Unpredictable
Japan’s plan and the equipment for the discharge are “in conformity with the agreed international standards and its application,” Grossi said.
He said the dilution of treated but still slightly radioactive wastewater for gradual release into the sea is a proven method widely used in other countries, including China, South Korea, the United States and France, to dispose of water containing certain radionuclides from nuclear plants.
Much of the Fukushima wastewater contains cesium and other radionuclides, but it will be filtered further to bring it below international standards for all but tritium, which is inseparable from water. It then will be diluted by 100 times with seawater before it is released.
But Haruhiko Terasawa, head of the Miyagi prefectural fisheries cooperatives, said they will continue to oppose the release while concerns remain. “The treated water is not a pro blem that ends after a single time or a year of release, but lasts as long as 30-40 years, so nobody can predict what might happen," he told TV Asahi.
Water storage
Japan has sought the IAEA's support to gain credibility for the plan. Experts from the U.N. agency and 11 nations have made several trips to Japan since early 2022 to examine preparations by the government and the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings.
Some scientists say the impact of long-term, low-dose exposure to radionuclides remains unknown and urge a delay in the release. Others say the discharge plan is sa fe but call for more transparency in sampling and monitoring.
Kishida, after meeting with Grossi, said Japan will continue to provide "detailed explanations based on scientific evidence with a high degree of transparency both domestically and internationally.”
A massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and their cooling water to be contaminated and leak continuously. The water is collected, treated and stored in about 1,000 tanks at the plant which will reach their capacity in early 2024.
