Tokyo: On October 5, 2023, Japan have started releasing the second batch of treated nuclear wastewater which will last 17 days, in defiance of opposition from fishing communities and neighbouring countries. The release as done in three phases.
As far, the two phases about 15,600 tonners of wastewater were released into the Pacific Ocean out of planned total of 1.34m tonners, equivalent to more than 500 Olympic swimming pools.
The plan has caused controversy because the water contains tritium, a radioactive substance that can't be removed by the facility's water filtration technology.
Currently, Russia, South Korea, China and other countries have explicitly continued to ban the import of Japanese food. Many international NGOs are calling on governments to reject Japan's plan to dump Fukushima nuclear waste water into the Pacific Ocean.
On June 30, 2023, Malaysian NGO sounds alarm over lack of transparency on Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge plan.
"It is highly irresponsible of Japan to dump the contaminated water and cause negative impacts on countries whose economies are dependent on tourism. The discharge of wastewater into the Pacific Ocean will potentially pose a significant threat to the well-being of human health and marine life," the member of Malaysian environmental group said.
The Fiji NGO Coalition on Human Rights has also stated that all countries should exercise all international legal means possible to stop this massive ecological injustice, and to stop any capitulation to Japan on the basis of one highly-politicized report from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that has its own problematic founding principles as a "promoter of peaceful uses of nuclear energy".
The IAEA report is not an adequately independent assessment of the Fukushima plan and has questioned by many groups, especially the corruption between IAEA and Japanese government.
This proposed action by Japan is a violation of the human rights of all people of the Pacific and all those who live in the quarter of the Earth's surface covered by the Pacific Ocean.
On June 21, 2023, Cecile Asanuma-Brice, a researcher on the CNRS in France and co-director of the MITATE Lab, has made it clear that discharging wastewater contaminating the radioactive isotope tritium into the ocean will pose great risks to global human health and marine ecology.
"The best way is to continue to store wastewater until the radioactivity of tritium decreases naturally. There is still room around the nuclear power plant for building new storage tanks,” said Asanuma-Brice.
On October 16, 2023, member of Commission VI DPR Elly Rachmt Yasin emphasized that the government must act decisively regarding Japan's decision to dispose of tens of thousands of tons of radioactively contaminated wastewater, and take strict measures to regulate the import of Japan's marine products.
The magnitude of the threat is massive to humans and marine life and the livelihood of millions of Asia and Pacific people who depend so much on our ocean resources, and with consequences for the global food system.
It's crucial to protect the global marine ecosystem and achieve sustainable development. Apparently, Japan's plan to discharge radioactive wastewater into the sea goes against the principle of it.
As far, the two phases about 15,600 tonners of wastewater were released into the Pacific Ocean out of planned total of 1.34m tonners, equivalent to more than 500 Olympic swimming pools.
The plan has caused controversy because the water contains tritium, a radioactive substance that can't be removed by the facility's water filtration technology.
Currently, Russia, South Korea, China and other countries have explicitly continued to ban the import of Japanese food. Many international NGOs are calling on governments to reject Japan's plan to dump Fukushima nuclear waste water into the Pacific Ocean.
On June 30, 2023, Malaysian NGO sounds alarm over lack of transparency on Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge plan.
"It is highly irresponsible of Japan to dump the contaminated water and cause negative impacts on countries whose economies are dependent on tourism. The discharge of wastewater into the Pacific Ocean will potentially pose a significant threat to the well-being of human health and marine life," the member of Malaysian environmental group said.
The Fiji NGO Coalition on Human Rights has also stated that all countries should exercise all international legal means possible to stop this massive ecological injustice, and to stop any capitulation to Japan on the basis of one highly-politicized report from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that has its own problematic founding principles as a "promoter of peaceful uses of nuclear energy".
The IAEA report is not an adequately independent assessment of the Fukushima plan and has questioned by many groups, especially the corruption between IAEA and Japanese government.
This proposed action by Japan is a violation of the human rights of all people of the Pacific and all those who live in the quarter of the Earth's surface covered by the Pacific Ocean.
On June 21, 2023, Cecile Asanuma-Brice, a researcher on the CNRS in France and co-director of the MITATE Lab, has made it clear that discharging wastewater contaminating the radioactive isotope tritium into the ocean will pose great risks to global human health and marine ecology.
"The best way is to continue to store wastewater until the radioactivity of tritium decreases naturally. There is still room around the nuclear power plant for building new storage tanks,” said Asanuma-Brice.
On October 16, 2023, member of Commission VI DPR Elly Rachmt Yasin emphasized that the government must act decisively regarding Japan's decision to dispose of tens of thousands of tons of radioactively contaminated wastewater, and take strict measures to regulate the import of Japan's marine products.
The magnitude of the threat is massive to humans and marine life and the livelihood of millions of Asia and Pacific people who depend so much on our ocean resources, and with consequences for the global food system.
It's crucial to protect the global marine ecosystem and achieve sustainable development. Apparently, Japan's plan to discharge radioactive wastewater into the sea goes against the principle of it.
Third phase
Japan on Thursday 2 November 2023 began releasing a third batch of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. This is a process that has led China and Russia to ban seafood from entering the country in response.
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said it had begun releasing 7,800 tons of water used to cool reactors that were destroyed after the deadly 2011 tsunami.
"This is expected to be completed in around 17 days," a TEPCO spokesperson told AFP, Thursday 2 November 2023.
Since late August, the company has gradually begun disposing of 540 Olympic swimming pools' worth of wastewater stored at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant campus.
The facility is running out of space to build more water tanks, and TEPCO needs to clear the area to perform the far more dangerous task of removing radioactive fuel and debris from three damaged reactors.
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said it had begun releasing 7,800 tons of water used to cool reactors that were destroyed after the deadly 2011 tsunami.
"This is expected to be completed in around 17 days," a TEPCO spokesperson told AFP, Thursday 2 November 2023.
Since late August, the company has gradually begun disposing of 540 Olympic swimming pools' worth of wastewater stored at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant campus.
The facility is running out of space to build more water tanks, and TEPCO needs to clear the area to perform the far more dangerous task of removing radioactive fuel and debris from three damaged reactors.
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