Japan has announced that it will drain more than a million tons of water from the Fukushima nuclear reactor destroyed in 2011 into the sea, reports the British broadcasting organization BBC.
After cooling water treatment, the activity of most of the radioactive particles meets the standards set by the state. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has indicated that the planned action is safe, but Japan’s neighboring countries have expressed concern.
The decommissioning of Japan’s plant is on the way but could take up to four decades. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the release of water into the sea could happen in the spring or summer, but first, a comprehensive report from the IAEA is awaited. About 100 cubic meters of contaminated water are produced every day at the Fukushima plant. It is filtered and stored in tanks.
Currently, about 1,3 million cubic meters of contaminated water are stored in the territory, and space is running out.
The water has been cleaned of most radioactive isotopes, but tritium levels still exceed national standards, according to the operator of the nuclear power plant, Tepco. Experts report that it is very difficult to purify water from tritium, but it is harmful to humans only in very large doses. Neighboring countries and Japanese fishermen, however, oppose the discharge of water into the sea. The Pacific Forum has criticized Japan for its lack of transparency and has pointed out that the ocean is an extremely important part of their lives for the people of the Pacific Rim.
In 2011, a tsunami wave hit the Fukushima nuclear power plant, flooded three reactors, and caused a serious disaster. Authorities established a closed zone that remains in effect.