Japan has announced that it will be releasing more than one million tonnes of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. This has raised concerns from South Korea, environmental groups, and also the fishing industry. 

The official’s state that the process might take decades to finish.

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 Here is how the Japanese government is backing the decision: Advanced Liquid Processing System 

Radioactive water has been accumulating at the plant since the 2011 nuclear disaster. The filtration system that is known as “ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System)” has been working on extracting tonnes of newly contaminated waters each day and filters out the radioactive elements. 

The process takes out most of the radioactive isotopes making it fall below the levels of International safety guidelines for nuclear plant wastewater. 

However, it is not possible to remove tritium from the wastewater. Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen that is harmful to humans. 

The Japanese government argues that their process meets the International Standards endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

The government has also agreed to further dilute the waters to reduce the tritium levels to bring it far below the standards set by WHO for drinking water. 

 IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi also backs the decision stating, “Releasing into the ocean is done elsewhere. It’s not something new. There is no scandal here”. 

What the experts are saying

Experts of radiation risk assessment have said that the impact on human health will be minuscule. However, they cannot rule out every risk hence there is a controversy. 

Another expert of radiation comments that there is no health risk at all particularly so when you factor in the dilution factor of the Pacific Ocean. 

Criticism 

The local fishing communities worry that with the release of this controversial water they will also lose the consumer base that they have been building since the 2011 nuclear disaster.  

“Our efforts in the past decade to restore the fish industry will be for nothing.” says an official with the association of Fukushima fishermen unions. Further, he adds “The message from the government that the water is safe is not reaching the public, that’s the huge problem”. 

The trading partners will also stop selling their products and the consumers have said that they will stop purchasing the Fukushima seafood, reports AFP. 

The environmental groups on Monday announced that they have gathered 183,754 signatures from South Korea and Japan in a petition against this decision.