YA "IAEA Review Report Questions Scientific Basis... Simple Model Used for Contamination Analysis"

Presentation and Discussion by Professor Baek Do-myeong of Seoul National University
Pointing Out Violations of International Law and IAEA Internal Regulations

The Democratic Research Institute, the think tank of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the final report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, Japan, stating that the scientific basis is insufficient. They pointed out that the ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) model analyzed in the IAEA report uses concentrations lower than the actual contamination levels and that the report fails to address the potential impact on our marine areas over time.

On the 11th, the Democratic Research Institute held an "Urgent Discussion on the Verification of the IAEA Fukushima Contaminated Water Report" at the party's floor leader meeting room and announced the verification results of the report.

In his opening remarks, Jeong Tae-ho, head of the Democratic Research Institute, stated, "There are many scientific problems with this IAEA report," and raised concerns such as whether the nuclear removal facilities are functioning properly, whether the sampled contaminated water was scientifically collected and verified, and whether the report contains scientific evidence on the potential impact on the marine ecosystem over the 30 years of planned discharge.

Baek Do-myeong, emeritus professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine, who presented the report, pointed out problems by examining each detail described in the report. Regarding Japan's ALPS, he criticized, "The calculation is based only on the concentration of water that has passed through ALPS for discharge into the ocean," and added, "It does not consider the nuclear contamination situation in the sea in front of Fukushima at all. The concentration of contaminated water used in the report is much cleaner and lower than the concentration in our country's waters."

Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at an urgent current issue discussion hosted by the Democratic Research Institute on the verification of the IAEA Fukushima contaminated water report at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

He continued, "The report neither recommends nor endorses the discharge without questioning whether the water to be discharged could cause further changes," and said, "Currently, 30 radionuclides have been identified, but we have told the IAEA that 67 radionuclides should be identified. It is questionable what meaning there is in assessing whether the contaminated water is problematic based on that."

Han Byung-seop, director of the Nuclear Safety Research Institute, who participated in the discussion, also pointed out, "(The IAEA) used a very simple model for analysis," and warned, "If the concentration factor increases tenfold, we do not know what impact it will have." He also expressed concerns that the impact on our marine areas will increase over time. Director Han said, "They say they will prepare countermeasures, but there is no guarantee that measures not currently being implemented will be taken in 10 years," and emphasized, "We need to clearly address this."

Song Ki-ho, lawyer and deputy head of the Fukushima Contaminated Water Countermeasures Headquarters, also pointed out that the report violates international legal provisions and IAEA’s own regulations. He said, "The GSR (General Safety Requirements), which is a higher regulation than the GSG (General Safety Guide), is included in the IAEA safety regulatory framework and contains the rule 'Do not proceed unless justified,'" and criticized, "The IAEA comprehensive report does not conduct any specific review of the justification requirements."

He added, "From an international legal perspective, in cases of radioactive leakage incidents, unexpected accidents and planned releases like this require sufficient chemical and logical processes to explain causes and effects to other countries," and said, "We must receive this information."

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