Fukushima water discharge begins amid conflicting opinions

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The Fukushima disaster in 2011 is the worst nuclear accident since what happened in Chernobyl in 1986. A large earthquake followed by a tsunami destroyed the plant, which has since been in the process of dismantling, work that could last up to four decades.

Japan stored and treated contaminated water from the cooling pro Phone Number List cess of molten fuel in the plant's reactors using an advanced liquid processing system (ALPS). A filtering circuit that eliminates most radioactive elements, with the exception of tritium , and then stores the water again in drums.

Now the warehouses have begun to be emptied as part of plans to dismantle the nuclear infrastructure. The Japanese Government and TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Co.) made the decision to pour nearly one million metric tons of treated water into the Pacific Ocean due to the inability to continue accumulating the liquid due to lack of space. The amount is equivalent to more than 5,000 Olympic swimming pools.

Group of volunteers monitor water pollution in the River Wharfe in Yorkshire, England.
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The determination is generating conflicting opinions among scientists, environmentalists and governments of nearby countries. The discharge of Fukushima waters obtained approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in recent months. The organization directed by Rafael Grossi reported that it evaluated the safety in the handling and pouring of the treated liquid for two years.

The process will last more than 30 years. The IAEA and the Japanese authorities concluded that it does not represent risks and undertook to report periodically on progress. However, the fishing industry, environmentalists and neighboring countries such as China and Korea oppose the strategy.

For some researchers, the release of treated water from Fukushima is a routine procedure that complies with current regulatory standards. Jim Smith, professor of environmental sciences at the University of Portsmouth, explained that “at any other nuclear site in the world, this would be considered a 'routine' discharge of treated wastewater with very low levels of radioactivity.”



Fukushima treated waters under debate
David Krofcheck, senior lecturer in physics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, said the filtered cooling water “will not cause physically harmful effects” because tritium is an isotope that occurs naturally as part of ambient radiation. .

The scientist assured that the water release processes are designed to have seven times less tritium per liter than what is recommended for drinking water by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, he warned that “the presence of the cancer-causing nuclear fission isotopes cesium-137, strontium-90 and iodine-131 must be checked before releasing the initial batch of water. These isotopes, deposited in the waters of Fukushima during and shortly after the 2011 disaster, are responsible for the radioactivity in seafood, and for the subsequent fishing bans.

WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic stressed that Japan's disposal regulations respect international safety standards for radiation protection . He explained that the standards used in the release of treated water from Fukushima are endorsed by the highest health authority in the world and six other international organizations. The standards "constitute the world reference to protect the population from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation," he said.