Fukushima’s Wastewater Release Decision Faces Global Backlash
Transcript
To Japan now, where over a million tons of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant has begun to be released into the Pacific Ocean. The decision to discharge water used to cool damaged reactors was approved by the United Nations nuclear watchdog last month. The move has sparked protests and criticism by Japan’s neighbors, with Hong Kong’s leader John Lee, instructing his government to restrict some Japanese seafood imports in response. Japan maintains that the process is safe, saying it will have removed most radioactive elements from the water before it is released.
Live now to our Tokyo correspondent, Shaimaa Khalil, who is in Fukushima. Shaimaa, welcome. To a significant day for the area, for the country indeed, just explain why they’ve made this decision to do this now.
It is a big day here in Japan. There has been a controversial 2-year buildup for those plans and this decision and today is the day it happens. As we speak, treated radioactive wastewater is being released into the ocean. Now, we’re not very far from the nuclear power plant. We can just about make out the chimneys over there beyond the greenery. They’ve been releasing live pictures of the water being discharged. Now, you can’t really see it from where we are because it’s all happening under water, though the wastewater is being pumped into a tunnel under the sea. It’s about a kilometer long and then being released into the ocean.
This is the…this is a significant day because it is the start of the process, but it is a very long process that’s going to spend many decades there predicting 30 years, maybe longer. Within the first two weeks, so from now until two weeks, they’re predicting that they’re going to release about nearly 8,000 tons of this wastewater. Now, it has caused a great deal of anxiety from the moment it was announced, and of course, on a day like today.
The science says it’s safe. The government says it’s safe. TEPCO, the company running the plant, says it’s safe. Essentially, they’ve been processing this water, diluting it, removing more than 60 radionuclide. One remains, which is tritium. It’s very hard to remove from water. But they say with the dilution, the fact that it’s in the ocean, the concentration levels are going to be well beyond, well below safety standards. That does very little to reassure people here in Fukushima, in Japan and around the region.
It’s interesting, we’re not very far from a fishing port. And the one fisherman that we wanted to speak to said, “Look, we’ve been told not to speak about anything today.” But we’ve been here many, many times. and those who you’ve managed to speak to are really worried. They say, “We’ve suffered a great deal of reputational damage, perception of Fukushima fish and it’s taken us years to convince people to have our seafood. This release is like a second disaster to us.”
Many people are worried about what to feed their children. And of course, it’s not just here in Japan. China is angry. It’s criticized Japan for using the Pacific Ocean as its personal sewer. South Korea, even though they’ve supported this plan, it goes against the public sentiment. People there are very angry. And Hong Kong has issued a ban on Japanese seafood. This is going to take a long time and it’s going to take Japan a lot of work to convince its people and its neighbor that this is safe. And so far, not many are convinced.
머리에 이미 총을 맞았는데 뭘 또 당황까지?! 🤔🤨😏
