Japan has nevertheless decided to discharge radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear disaster ten years ago. In total, this involves more than 1 million tons of polluted water.
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The water was used, among other things, to cool the reactor of the nuclear power plant when it was hit by a major earthquake and a tsunami in 2011. The cooling water is currently in huge storage tanks.
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Getting rid of the water is a huge headache for the Japanese government. Pumping the water into the sea has long been considered, but the decision has met enormous resistance due to safety concerns. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government has now taken the plunge. Suga called the discharge of the water into the sea the “most realistic scenario”.
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Long process
The water will probably be discharged in two years at the earliest. The entire process may take decades. The intention is that the polluted water is first filtered and diluted. Scientists say the long-term impact on marine life after exposure to low doses of radioactive water is unknown.
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Neighboring countries China and South Korea have previously expressed their concerns about the plan. Japanese fishermen are not keen on it either. They fear that such a measure could turn out badly for their profession. For example, after the nuclear disaster, South Korea halted the import of fish from the area near Fukushima.
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Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and a tsunami on March 11, 2011. About 100,000 people fled and nearly 19,000 were killed. As a result of the natural disaster, the nuclear power plant in Fukushima was damaged. It was the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
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