Countdown to Fukushima Contaminated Water Discharge... Growing Concerns Over Marine Ecosystem

As the Japanese government is increasingly likely to proceed with the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean as early as the first half of this year, concerns are growing about the impact on our marine ecosystem.

According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the fisheries industry on the 26th, Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant through an undersea tunnel as early as this spring. If the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant is released into the ocean, it could affect the safety of neighboring countries, including South Korea.

On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake caused contaminated water to accumulate at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant due to groundwater and rainwater flowing into the plant site. Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to purify the contaminated water using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove most radioactive materials and discharge it by this summer at the latest.

The problem is that while ALPS can remove 62 types of radioactive materials, it cannot filter out tritium. The Japanese side plans to dilute the tritium, which cannot be removed by ALPS, with seawater to lower its concentration before releasing it. They claim that if the concentration is reduced to below 1,500 becquerels (Bq), which is 1/40th of Japan's regulatory standard for tritium, there will be no harm.

Our government has requested the Japanese side to share accurate data to verify the stability of the marine environment and insists on the need for verification of the entire process of contaminated water discharge. Earlier this month, on the 16th, the government announced simulation results regarding the impact of tritium on our waters, but due to the low reliability of Japanese data, public concerns have not been alleviated.

The marine industry could also be directly hit by the discharge of contaminated water. Even if there is no direct damage from contamination, public concerns could significantly reduce the consumption of seafood.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries strongly opposes Japan's discharge of nuclear power plant contaminated water, considering the marine ecosystem and the safety of neighboring countries. Minister Cho Seung-hwan expressed concerns about the impact on the health and safety of neighboring countries' citizens if contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant is released into the ocean at the '44th Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the London Convention and the 17th Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the London Protocol.'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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