According to a media report, Japan is expected to start discharging treated cooling water from the Fukushima nuclear ruins into the sea later this month. As reported by the country’s highest-circulation newspaper, “Yomiuri Shimbun”, citing informed circles, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet with the responsible ministers in his cabinet on August 20 and decide the exact date of the water discharge. It is expected to start this month.
In 2011, an earthquake and tsunami caused a core meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The destroyed reactors still have to be cooled with water stored in tanks. Over 1.3 million tons are already stored there. According to the operator Tepco, the space is now running out. Therefore, the water is to be channeled into the Pacific via a one-kilometer-long tunnel built into the sea. Before dumping, the water is treated. The system can filter out 62 radionuclides – except for the radioactive isotope tritium.
Tepco therefore wants to dilute the water to such an extent that the tritium concentration drops to around 1,500 becquerels per liter, which corresponds to less than a fortieth of the national safety standard. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved the plan. Japan meets international safety standards. The effects on people and the environment are “negligible”. Local fishermen are still against it. China also rejects the plan and is tightening import controls for Japanese food. It is estimated that dumping will take around 30 years.
