Japan: UN Approves Fukushima Water Release

Facts

• The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday announced it had approved Japan's plan to release treated water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.¹
• The IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, who visited Fukushima on Tuesday, submitted the UN's safety review to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, concluding that the water release as currently planned would have a "negligible radiological impact on people and the environment."²
• While he noted that Japan's plan to discharge treated water into the ocean "has raised societal, political and environmental concerns," Grossi said it was "in conformity with the agreed international standards and its application."³
• However, Grossi later said that the approval was "neither a recommendation nor an endorsement" of Japan's water release plan, adding that the IAEA would continue its "impartial, independent and objective safety review during and after the discharge phase."⁴
• Discharging the water — enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools — would reportedly take 30 to 40 years to complete, pending the IAEA's review and official approval from Japan's nuclear regulatory body.⁵
• In 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima plant's cooling systems, causing its reactors to melt and release large amounts of radiation. The highly radioactive water used to cool the reactors — stored in more than 1K tanks — has since leaked into the plant's basements.⁶

Sources: ¹Dw.Com, ²CNN, ³Associated Press (a), ⁴Guardian, ⁵Reuters, ⁶Associated Press (b).

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Al Jazeera. The Japanese government's decision to contaminate the ocean with large volumes of radioactive tritium-laden water damages the reputation of Fukushima's agricultural and fishing produce. In addition, by turning its back on the clear evidence that the "treated water" still contains harmful radionuclides, Japan has deliberately put marine and human life at risk of radiation exposure.
• Narrative B, as provided by The Conversation. The ocean release of Fukushima water is the most realistic and safe option available to improve the environment surrounding Fukushima's nuclear plant. The Japanese government is doing its utmost to ensure people's safety, including diluting the treated water with seawater to bring the tritium concentration well below internationally approved levels.
• Narrative C, as provided by The Guardian. While it may be a common practice among nuclear plants worldwide to routinely and safely release treated wastewater containing low levels of tritium, continuing with the massive discharge plan at Fukushima at a time when the burgeoning climate crisis and growing scale of natural disasters pose significant challenges to the world would be premature.

Predictions