Tokyo Electric Power Company Reveals Flounder Grown in Fukushima Contaminated Water

Trial Flatfish Farming Facility Established at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Site
Safety Campaign Launched Ahead of Radioactive Wastewater Release Scheduled for April Next Year

Flatfish raised in water diluted from contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, released by Tokyo Electric Power Company on the 17th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has unveiled flounder raised in water diluted from contaminated water generated at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

According to local media including Kyodo News on the 18th, TEPCO invited reporters to a flounder breeding test facility located within the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant site the day before.

TEPCO is cultivating hundreds of flounders in two tanks set up at this test facility. The blue tank contains regular seawater, while the yellow tank contains diluted contaminated water. TEPCO claimed that there is no difference in the growth conditions of flounders raised in the two tanks.

TEPCO also explained that the tritium concentration in the yellow tank is the same as the level at the time of ocean discharge. The Japanese government plans to use the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to purify the contaminated water to about 1/40th of the standard level for ocean discharge before releasing it. However, while ALPS can remove about 60 types of radioactive substances including cesium, tritium is known not to be filtered out.

Some critics argue that this is a public relations effort to promote the safety of seafood ahead of the release of radioactive contaminated water. According to a decision by the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan in July, contaminated water generated at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is scheduled to be discharged into the ocean starting from April next year. Since the hydrogen explosion accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, contaminated water has been generated from groundwater and rainwater flowing into the nuclear power plant site.

Tokyo Electric Power Company on the 17th revealed flatfish being raised in diluted contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Photo by Yonhap News

Previously, the Japanese government also conducted promotional activities regarding the safety of Fukushima contaminated water. Last month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and TEPCO held an online briefing session through the Japanese Embassy in Korea, claiming that purifying and discharging contaminated water into the sea is safe. Japanese government officials stated, "We are releasing 'treated water' from which radioactive substances have been removed and diluted," and emphasized, "We will never discharge water that does not meet international standards."

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