On Thursday, a month and a half after the first phase, the Fukushima power plant started releasing water used to cool the reactors.
 |
| Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan |
The contentious discharge of treated water into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan has reached its second phase, further sparking worries and diplomatic difficulties, especially with China.
This action follows the first phase of water release that began on August 24, marking the beginning of a long-term procedure aimed at disposing of water that was used to cool the cores of the plant's three reactors, which melted down after the horrific tsunami that occurred in 2011.
According to a spokeswoman for Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), which is the company that operates the plant, the most recent phase of the discharge started on Thursday, October 5, at 10:18 a.m. local time, which is equivalent to 3:18 a.m. French time.
The discharged water has been treated to eliminate radioactive chemicals, with the exception of tritium, which is regarded safe at low quantities and has been held for a lengthy period of time in enormous tanks on the plant's property. Before releasing the water into the ocean, Tepco makes sure that its radioactivity level is reduced to a level that is below the goal ceiling of 1,500 Bq./L. This is done to guarantee that the water is safe for consumption.
This level is far lower than both the Japanese norm for similar discharges at sea, which is forty times higher, and the recommended limit for drinking water set by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is 10,000 Bq/L. Both of these standards are significantly higher than this ceiling.
The discharge into the water was approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but it has resulted in a diplomatic impasse with China. As a form of protest, China stopped importing any seafood items from Japan at the end of August. Russia is also considering taking actions that are analogous, which would further strain ties with Japan, which have already been strained owing to continuing tensions relating to sanctions imposed by Tokyo in response to the situation in Ukraine.
Tepco has committed to maintaining its monitoring of tritium levels and providing open and honest updates to the public based on the findings of scientific investigations. Approximately 7,800 cubic meters of treated water were released into the environment over the course of seventeen days during the first phase of the water release. Tepco has set plans for three further operations that are comparable to the current one, with the ultimate goal of discharging more than 1.3 million cubic meters of treated water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean. According to the existing timeframe, this kind of disposal will be carried out in stages right up to the early 2050s.
The discharge of treated water from Fukushima continues to be a difficult subject, with environmental and diplomatic repercussions that will continue to have an impact for many years to come. As it proceeds on with this groundbreaking operation, Japan is faced with the challenging issue of balancing its safety and environmental commitments with the concerns of surrounding countries, notably China. This is a particularly difficult assignment.