Japanese Government Decides on Ocean Discharge of Fukushima Contaminated Water

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Japanese government has decided to discharge contaminated water containing a large amount of radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident into the ocean. Despite the Japanese government stating that it will dilute the concentration of the contaminated water before discharge in consideration of concerns from its own citizens and neighboring countries, it has sparked significant worries and controversy.

According to NHK on the 13th, the Japanese government held a meeting of relevant ministers and announced the decision on the "Basic Policy on the Disposal of Treated Water" to release the contaminated water into the ocean.

According to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), as of the 18th of last month, the contaminated water stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was estimated to be about 1,250,844 tons.

The discharge is planned to take place over a long period until the target completion of the decommissioning work, between 2041 and 2051.

The Japanese government has settled on the policy of ocean discharge based on the judgment that it cannot hold the contaminated water stored at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant indefinitely.

In consideration of concerns from its citizens and neighboring countries, the plan is to dilute the concentration of the radioactive material tritium before discharge. Additionally, monitoring of tritium levels before and after discharge will be strengthened, and Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to compensate for any damages that may occur despite these measures.

However, experts point out that even if the contaminated water is reprocessed, it is difficult to remove the radioactive material tritium, and there is also the issue of other radioactive materials remaining besides tritium.

In particular, it is known that there is strong opposition from Japanese citizens engaged in the fishing industry. Regardless of the actual concentration of the contaminated water, damage caused by rumors is inevitable.

Tatetsu Kanji, head of the Soufuta Fisheries Cooperative, said, "The government simply says it is okay to release it into the sea, but among the entire nation and overseas countries that do not accept the safety, damage caused by rumors will definitely occur," adding, "The government says it will take firm measures against this, but since no concrete details have been presented, it is hard to believe."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.