The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supported Japan's plan to release more than a million tons of treated nuclear water from the destroyed Fukushima power plant into the ocean. IAEA came up with the decision amid opposition from those against the proposal.
IAEA Approves Japan's Proposal For Fukushima Power Plant's Nuclear Water Waste
IAEA released a statement after it concluded a two-year assessment of Japan's plan for the wastewater. The agency said in a report Tuesday that the program is "consistent with relevant international safety standards." It also acknowledged that while societal, political, and environmental concerns have been raised, the discharged water "will have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment."
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the IAEA, flew to Tokyo to give the findings to Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan. Grossi stated at a press conference that the UN's nuclear watchdog would monitor the discharge from the location.
Grossi also told reporters at the Japan National Press Club Tuesday that this will guarantee that the pertinent international safety standards continue to be applied throughout the multi-decade process outlined by the Government of Japan and TEPCO [Tokyo Electric Power Company].
The government of Japan, the Nuclear Regulation Authority, and TEPCO, the demolished Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station owners, originally unveiled the idea in 2021. They all insist that the procedure is safe.
After meltdowns in three reactors, the water was used to cool the plant's fuel rods in 2011. It will be purified and released into the Pacific Ocean over three to four decades. The Fukushima nuclear power plant was destroyed after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake set off a strong tsunami.
Japan has not yet announced a start date for the water release because it was awaiting IAEA approval.
Radiation Fears Grow
The scheme has come under heavy fire from the scientific community, with many scientists stating that they are not persuaded by the Japanese government's and TEPCO's assurances that the treated wastewater will effectively be diluted in the ocean.
One of the five experts the Pacific Islands Forum hired to examine the plan is Robert Richmond, a biologist from the University of Hawaii. He claimed that the scientists in Japan had not offered adequate proof that dangerous substances won't be discharged into the ocean.
He added that the panel had mentioned this and other issues with the Japanese government, but to no avail. Also, there are significant gaps in the crucial information required to reach the final decision.
He claims this is dangerous because potentially toxic substances can bond to marine life and sediment, potentially mutating and destroying their DNA. They all agree that this isn't safe.
In a survey conducted over the weekend and made public by the Japanese television network JNN, 45 percent of respondents favored the proposal, while 40 percent opposed it, The New York Times reported.
According to Azby Brown, lead researcher of Safecast, an independent radiation-monitoring organization, many scientists reportedly felt the data was incomplete. Brown said the health risk provided by the leaked water would be extremely modest and thousands of times lower than radiation exposure daily. However, there hasn't been enough transparency throughout the entire process. It reportedly lacked inclusion and thoroughness.
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