Japan has started discharging the treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. According to the operating company Tepco, the dumping will probably take several decades – the annoyance of neighboring countries is great.
Around twelve years after the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Japanese government has made its announcement come true: since 1 p.m. local time, the treated cooling water from the nuclear ruins has been disposed of in the sea. This was announced by the operator group Tepco. Despite major concerns among fishermen and neighboring countries like China, Tepco channeled the first batch of treated water into a one-kilometer tunnel being built for the purpose in the Pacific.
A live video link from the control room at the company’s power plant showed an employee operating a seawater pump, starting the controversial procedure. “Seawater pump A is activated,” he explained.
1.3 million tons are stored in tanks
In March 2011, a severe earthquake and massive tsunami caused a core meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. 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.
According to the nuclear power plant operator Tepco, the space for storing the water is running out. In addition, long-term storage on the site threatens to impede the decommissioning work on the nuclear ruins. Leaks could also occur. Dumping the huge amounts of water is expected to take around 30 years.
IAEA inspectors had no objection
The contaminated cooling water is treated before it is discharged into the Pacific, but the filter system cannot filter out the radioactive isotope tritium. Tepco therefore dilutes the water with seawater to such an extent that the tritium concentration drops to 1,500 becquerels per liter, which the operator says is less than a fortieth of the national safety standard.
Just this week, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave the green light for the so-called dumping of treated cooling water from Fukushima Daiichi, provided the weather cooperates. Kishida said there is no alternative to draining the water if progress is to be made toward complete decommissioning of the nuclear facility and Fukushima’s recovery. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had approved the dumping and said Japan was meeting international safety standards.
Fishing against dumping
Japan’s fisheries agency plans to test seafood for radioactive tritium every day for the next four weeks. The test results should be published within two days. Samples will be taken from two locations within a ten kilometer radius of the nuclear ruins. The domestic fishing industry is vehemently opposed to dumping water from Fukushima into the sea. She fears that this could completely discredit Japanese seafood.
The approach has met with sharp criticism in neighboring countries, who fear that the water could contaminate food. China condemns Japan’s actions, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. The disposal of the contaminated water is an important issue of nuclear safety with transboundary implications and is by no means just a matter for Japan.
China already bans seafood imports from ten Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima and the capital Tokyo. The Chinese special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau had announced that they would implement an import ban from today.