File photo taken on Oct 12, 2017 shows huge tanks that store contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. (XINHUA)
Experts call on countries in region to jointly oppose Tokyo as it moves step closer to implementing Fukushima discharge plan
Japan’s plan to dump radioactive wastewater from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will endanger the lives of both South Koreans and those in the Asia-Pacific region, experts say, calling for joint opposition from all the neighboring countries.
The calls came as Japan moved a step closer to implementing its planned discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from 2023, following approval of the plan’s details recently by the nation’s nuclear regulator.
“The discharge of wastewater from Fukushima is an act of contaminating the Pacific Ocean as well as the sea area of South Korea,” said Ahn Jae-hun, energy and climate change director at the Korea Federation for Environment Movement, a green advocacy group in Seoul.
"Many people in South Korea believe that Japan’s discharge of Fukushima wastewater is a wrong policy that threatens the safety of both the sea and humans," Ahn told China Daily.
Many people in South Korea believe that Japan’s discharge of Fukushima wastewater is a wrong policy that threatens the safety of both the sea and humans.
Ahn Jae-hun,
energy and climate change director at the Korea Federation for Environment Movement
Japan’s nuclear regulator approved in July a plan to discharge wastewater into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima power plant, after it built up a huge amount of radiation-tainted water — which has been collected and stored in tanks — following efforts to cool down the reactors after an earthquake and tsunami disaster in 2011.
The plan has drawn fierce opposition from government officials and civic groups in South Korea, one of the world’s major aquatic food consumption markets.
On Aug 1, South Korea’s Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Cho Seung-hwan said the government is considering whether to take the issue to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, or ITLOS, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Cho said the government’s primary plan is to prevent Japan from releasing contaminated water.
“We do not accept the release plan. Our stance is that we also need to think of responses”, Cho said.
Ahn said radioactive materials can generate long-term effects and it remains unclear how they will affect the marine ecosystem.
Though the South Korean government is considering taking the issue to the international tribunal, Ahn said it will be challenging to quantify and prove the potential damage.
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South Korea has said it will conduct a thorough analysis and revision of the impact of Japan’s plan but the government has not received enough data from Japan to conduct such research, South Korea’s Hankyoreh newspaper reported in June.
After Japan’s nuclear regulator approved the Fukushima discharge plan, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tokyo needs to transparently explain and gain consent from neighboring countries before releasing the contaminated water.
Shaun Burnie, senior nuclear specialist with Greenpeace Germany, said the environment group is concerned at the potential impact of the Fukushima radioactive contaminated water on the wider Asia-Pacific region.
The level of exposure depends on multiple variables including the concentration in sea water and how quickly it concentrates, disperses and dilutes, forms of life, and the type of radionuclide released and how that disperses or concentrates as it moves through the environment, Burnie said.
People protest against Japan's decision to dump radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean outside Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea, April 14, 2021. (XU RUXI / XINHUA)
“The concentrations are of direct relevance to those who may consume them, including marine species like fish and, ultimately, humans,” Burnie told China Daily.
Noting that the Fukushima contaminated water issue comes under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as it is a form of pollution to international waters, Burnie said there are strong grounds for individual countries to file a legal challenge against Japan’s plan.
“Our view is that in a number of key principles of international law, the Japanese government has failed to comply … which would assess the many, many impacts the radioactivity will have over the years, decades and longer,” said Burnie, noting, in particular, a comprehensive environmental impact assessment.
“This has not been done either by the Japanese government, TEPCO or the IAEA,” said Burnie, referring to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
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Ahn from the Korea Federation for Environment Movement said it is important for South Korea to cooperate with neighboring countries that will also be affected by Japan’s plan.
Ahn said a joint voice of opposition could force the Japanese government to respond and choose a safe method to deal with the wastewater instead of dumping it into the sea.
In August 2021, South Korea submitted a document to the secretariat of the London Protocol, which calls for banning dumping, and suggested the formation of a task force in charge of the Fukushima issue. But Japan said the matter is not subject to discussion under the Protocol.
Last week, construction began on a pipeline to transport treated nuclear wastewater from hillside storage tanks to a coastal facility before its planned release into the ocean next year, according to TEPCO.
China has expressed firm opposition against the plan and said Japan will pay the price for its irresponsible behavior if it insists on carrying out the disposal plan.