Deputy Minister of Oceans and Fisheries: Water Treated by Alps Gains Traction as 'Contaminated Treated Water'

"Government to Listen to Voices from All Sectors and Organize Its Position"

Park Seong-hoon, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, suggested the possibility of changing the name of the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, saying, "Voices saying that it is right to discharge the contaminated water are gaining strength."

On the 19th, Vice Minister Park said at the 'Live National Agenda' YouTube public lecture held by the National Human Resources Development Institute on the theme of 'Response to Contaminated Water and Activation of Domestic Seafood Consumption,' "The water that came out after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 was indeed contaminated water, and now water treated through the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) is being released."

Park Seong-hoon, Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, is holding a daily briefing on the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 19th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Previously, the issue of changing the term 'contaminated water' was controversial even before the marine discharge of Fukushima contaminated water. Japan used the term 'treated water' to mean 'cleanly purified,' which led to criticism that the use of the term 'contaminated treated water' represented Japan's position.

Even after Japan began discharging contaminated water, the terminology controversy continued. The fisheries industry argued that it should be called 'treated water' to promote seafood consumption, but opposition arose mainly from environmental groups. As the controversy over the name change spread, the government stated that it would not change the term immediately but would review which term is appropriate.

Vice Minister Park explained, "Strictly speaking, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United States, the United Kingdom, and the EU use the term ALPS treated water, while China and North Korea use the term nuclear contaminated water." He also conveyed that fisheries workers he meets in the field express concerns about the government using the term contaminated water.

Regarding the name change, Vice Minister Park said, "The government is maintaining the use of the term contaminated water, but recently we have been listening to various opinions from different sectors, and after hearing diverse voices in the task force, we will organize our position."

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