2023-07-04 12:43:09
Tokyo The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is backing Japan in a difficult foreign policy conflict. Despite protests from many other Pacific Rim countries, Japanese fishermen and demonstrations in South Korea, the authority on Tuesday approved the diplomatically most controversial part of Japan’s rescue plan for the 2011 damaged Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant.
The IAEA assesses the discharge of more than one million tons of the cooling water stored on the power plant site as unproblematic. Although the water has been decontaminated, it is still contaminated with radioactive tritium.
Tritium, a specific isotope of hydrogen, is a beta emitter that must enter the body to be dangerous. The molecule accumulates in nuclear power plants worldwide and must therefore be disposed of regularly.
Japan’s plan corresponds to the “relevant international safety standards,” said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in the final report of a multi-year investigation, which he handed over to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday. In addition, the IAEA stated that the controlled and slow release of the water planned by the operator Tepco would have “negligible radiological effects on humans and the environment”.
For the Japanese government and Tepco, the report is an important step in dealing with one of the world’s largest nuclear disasters. After a severe earthquake in 2011, a massive tsunami destroyed four of the six reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Core meltdowns occurred in three reactors. More than 100,000 people had to be evacuated.
Contaminated cooling water is another risk
In the meantime the situation has improved. Workers have been able to move around most of the site without protective suits for years. One of the biggest risks is still the contaminated cooling water from the reactors. It is true that Tepco filters 62 of 64 radioactive isotopes out of the water with systems. But this does not work with the carbon isotope C-14 and tritium.
After Tepco has already set up more than 1000 tanks on the nuclear power plant site, storage space is becoming scarce. That’s why Tepco now wants to release the water into the sea in a controlled manner, which is common practice in the nuclear industry. According to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, the radioactivity level of the water is far below the levels of other nuclear facilities.
Water tanks with radioactive contaminated water
The Japanese filter systems can apparently not filter all radioactive components from the water.
(Photo: Archyde.com)
In order to take away people’s fears, the tritium water is diluted and channeled into the sea through a tunnel one kilometer off the coast for decades. Tepco promises that after dilution, the discharged water will be even below the limits for radioactivity in drinking water.
Tepco plan becomes a political issue in Asia
One expert opinion is that tritium and C-14 are in fact so diluted in the Pacific that they pose no threat to other shores thousands of miles away. But Tepco’s plan hasn’t silenced the critics.
Local fishermen fear that they will again not be able to sell their catch because many customers may be afraid of contaminated fish. Scientists advising a coalition of 18 Pacific Rim countries say the consequences of long-term exposure to small doses, such as accumulation in the food chain, have not been adequately understood.
Even China is not yet satisfied. Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao reiterated Beijing’s position on Tuesday. “The Japanese side says that all of the world’s nuclear power plants discharge wastewater, but this water has not come into contact with a melted reactor core,” Wu told a news conference.
Rafael Grossi and Fumio Kishida
After handing over the report, the IAEA chief will continue to travel to South Korea.
(Photo: dpa)
In addition, the Chinese embassy stated that the IAEA is not the optimal body to assess the long-term environmental and health impacts of wastewater discharges. China accused Japan of not adequately investigating other forms of disposal.
In South Korea, meanwhile, many citizens have stocked up on salt for fear of contamination from Korean sea salt. At the end of June, the government even released sea salt from reserves in order to depress the salt price. That’s how highly political the matter is with Japan’s neighbors.
Korean left takes advantage of Japan’s domestic policy plan
In fact, Japan’s plan has become yet another pawn in the struggle between conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and the left-wing opposition. The left, which sharply attacks Yoon’s rapprochement with Japan, even accuses the neighbor of “nuclear terrorism”. Yoon, on the other hand, tries to take away the fear of the tritium water from the South Koreans.
A simulation by the Korean Institute of Ocean Science and Technology concluded in February that the impact of remote discharge would be too small to measure in Korean waters. Yoon also persuaded the Japanese government to have a Korean commission of experts investigate the situation. The report is expected shortly.
IAEA boss Grossi will also do some convincing. He travels to South Korea on Friday for a three-day visit. He understands the concerns of his neighbors, he said, but doesn’t see it as his job to convince the countries of Japan’s decision. Prime Minister Kishida must do that himself. The IAEA report will become an important tool of Japanese diplomacy.
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