[Reading Science] "Filtering Radiation with a Water Purifier?"... Rising Distrust in Japan's ALPS

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] As Japan's decision to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean has been finalized, doubts are being raised about the performance of the multi-nuclide removal equipment (ALPS) used by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to remove radioactive nuclides.

According to the nuclear science community on the 27th, ALPS was introduced from France and has been in use since the large amount of contaminated water began to be generated following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, when water was injected to cool the reactors. TEPCO states that the contaminated water processed by this equipment undergoes the ‘Kurion/SAARY’ process to remove highly radioactive nuclides, followed by the RO (reverse osmosis) process for desalination before final treatment. Specifically, ALPS consists of two types of sedimentation tanks and seven layers of adsorption towers, and TEPCO claims it can remove 62 types of radioactive nuclides from the contaminated water.

Simply put, it works on the same principle as a water purifier. The ALPS equipment can be thought of as a giant water purifier. ALPS is equipped with ion-exchange resins (filters) manufactured and supplied by companies such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and as the contaminated water goes through sedimentation and filtration processes, the mixed radioactive nuclides are filtered out. However, two nuclides that emit low-level radioactivity?tritium and carbon-14?cannot be filtered out. Tritium exists in water combined as tritiated water and is not ionized, and carbon-14 also does not exist in an ionized state, making it impossible to filter them out. The Japanese government and TEPCO refer to the water filtered through ALPS as ‘treated water’ and emphasize its reliability. Most radioactive nuclides are removed, leaving only tritium and carbon-14, which means it is fundamentally different from ordinary contaminated water.

However, controversy over its safety remains. France, which first devised and used this equipment, introduced it at the La Hague nuclear reprocessing facility in Normandy, claiming it removes 99.9% of nuclides, but the area has seen a high incidence of childhood leukemia, raising concerns. A 1993 survey of youths (under 25) living within 35 km of the La Hague facility found a total of 23 leukemia cases, corresponding to 2.99 cases per 100,000 people, significantly higher than the regional average of 1.2 cases. Particularly, after Fukushima local media reported in 2017 that ALPS’ nuclide removal statistics contained serious errors and suspected manipulation, TEPCO conducted an investigation and belatedly confirmed that major radioactive nuclides were detected at levels 10 to 100 times above the standard in over 70% of the treated water, damaging trust. TEPCO has hastily announced plans to treat the water once more with ALPS before discharge.

Many domestic and international experts express distrust toward ALPS itself. Lee Jung-yoon, CEO of Nuclear Safety and Future and a former nuclear technology expert, stated, "There is no guarantee that all nuclides will be removed by treating it once more," adding, "Rather, a re-verification of the equipment’s performance itself is necessary. Anyone with even a little knowledge of nuclear power would say that trusting ALPS could lead to serious problems."

On the other hand, many in the nuclear science community believe it can be trusted. Professor Joo Han-kyu of Seoul National University’s Department of Nuclear Engineering said, "The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reviewed TEPCO’s performance verification report and judged it trustworthy," and argued, "It is sufficient to verify and monitor the treatment results, such as whether the ion-exchange resins are replaced on time."

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