Fukushima: Japan Decides To Release Wastewater

A decade after a major meltdown at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, which caused its shutdown, Japan has decided to release large amounts of the contaminated water into the Pacific.

That comes as large amounts of water get used to cool the three melted reactors, with more than a million tonnes already used. The reactors got damaged when in 2011, a tsunami and 9.0 magnitude earthquake knocked out reactor cooling systems. The wastewater gets currently held at the power plant inside a massive tank farm big enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. But even that big of a container has its limits, with this one expected to fill up by 2022. The riskiest thing about the release is the remaining tritium, harmful to humans only in large doses. Environmental groups like Greenpeace oppose this action, showing that the government “once again failed the people of Fukushima.” Neighboring countries like China and South Korea oppose the move. And the local fishing industry also argued against it, worrying that consumers, who buy and eat marine products, would refuse to purchase from the region.

But is it that bad? That this tritium can have such impacts? Well, not exactly. The “contaminated water” released here has had chemicals filtered out to well below the World Health Organization standards for drinking water. The operation will get supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which supports the move as scientifically reasonable. The decision came about a week ago, but the idea of dumping the water first came to light in autumn 2020.

In an exclusive interview after the decision, chief editor Tigger expresses his opinion. “Releasing this wastewater into the ocean is acceptable, but we need to make sure that Japan is up to its word, that the standards get reached. Some don’t approve of the idea because Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, which owns the power plant, has had a documented history of corporate misconduct. In 2002, government investigations found that TEPCO falsely reported a routine governmental inspection of its nuclear plants and systematic concealment of plant safety incidents. Yes, it has done wrong in the past, and because of that, our reactions should be to help Japan do what it’s going to do. We know that this is the only way to deal with wastewater, so we should not criticize the plan. That’s true not only in this case but in our daily lives, like helping someone pick up books rather than blaming them for dropping things. The majority of the world did not blame China for the pandemic but helped slow the spread of the virus using requirements like social distancing and masks. We are civilized and should help others. We are good and want to help others. We are intelligent and know how to help others.”

Debates have taken place, protests have sparked up, and the decision, nevertheless, has been made. But the actual discharge of the wastewater into the Pacific will happen in two years, part of what is to be an even longer process expected to last two to three decades. That’s a production of the New News Newsminute, and thank you for reading.