Preparation for Japan's Radioactive Water Discharge... 17.7 Billion Won Allocated for Preliminary Budget on Radioactive Inspection of Seafood

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Adds 17.7 Billion Won to Nuclear Safety Commission Budget
To Strengthen Safety Inspections of Sea and Seafood

A total budget of 17.74 billion won will be spent from the general account contingency fund regarding the issue of contaminated water discharge from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant scheduled for next month. This is to closely and promptly monitor the radiation safety of marine areas and seafood. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission will manage this budget.

On the 27th, the government approved the expenditure plan for the general contingency fund at the Cabinet meeting presided over by President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Currently, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission conduct radiation surveys at 92 fixed points, including 52 coastal and 40 offshore and nearshore locations. To alleviate public concerns, 4.6 billion won will be invested to significantly expand the survey points to 200 (73 offshore and nearshore, 127 coastal).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

First, 13.1 billion won will be invested to strengthen radiation inspections of seafood. To begin with, 11 additional inspection devices will be added to enhance radiation testing capabilities at the production stage. Also, 6,000 radiation tests will be conducted, covering 40% of all aquaculture farms, for pre-shipment inspection and issuance of safety certificates for farmed seafood.

Along with this, focused guidance and crackdowns on about 20,000 businesses handling Japanese seafood will be intensified.

Jeon Jae-woo, Director of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, stated at a daily briefing on Fukushima contaminated water held at the Government Seoul Office that “We will execute the additionally secured budget as quickly as possible to establish a flawless safety management system.” As of this day, there have been no cases of radiation detected in 46 radiation tests on seafood at the production stage (4,624 cumulative tests this year), 108 radiation tests on seafood at the distribution stage from the 19th to the 23rd, and 11 radiation tests on imported Japanese seafood (2,787 cumulative tests this year).

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