Japan decides to discharge Fukushima's contaminated water into ocean; all you need to know

The Japanese government has decided to release over a million tonnes of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. The decision announced on April 12 has triggered a furious reaction from China along with the local fishing communities even though reportedly the process is not likely to start for several years and could further take decades to complete. 

Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, Japan had stored massive amounts of treated but still radioactive water in huge tanks after a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged the reactors in the plant and their cooling water became contaminated and began leaking. 

“On the premise of strict compliance with regulatory standards that have been established, we select oceanic release,” the government reportedly said in a statement after relevant ministers formalised the decision.

How was the water collected?

In 2011, a massive earthquake of magnitude 9.0 along with a tsunami had damaged the Fukushima plant’s cooling systems and caused three reactors to melt. Even a decade later, the cooling water that was contaminated, has constantly escaped from the damaged primary containment vessels into the basements of the reactor buildings.

To make up for the loss, additional water has been reportedly pumped in while some water is also pumped out and then treated. A portion of the treated water is recycled as cooling water while the remaining is stored at the plant in nearly 1,000 tanks. 

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc (Tepco) has been struggling with the build-up of about 1.24 million tons of radioactive water since then.

How contaminated is the water?

The water, equivalent to about 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to Tepco and the government is not harmful. The officials say that it is tritium which is not harmful in small amounts. Even though tritium cannot be removed from the water, all other radionuclides selected for the treatment can be reduced to safe levels before its release. 

However, as per the Associated Press report, scientists have alerted that there would be a long-term impact on marine life due to the low-dose exposure from such large volumes of water remains unknown. A Scientific American article said in 2014 had said that tritium is considered to be relatively harmless because it does not emit enough energy to penetrate the human skin but added that it can raise cancer risks if ingested.

Why do authorities want to release the water?

Since the disaster took place on March 11, 2011, and the discussion for releasing the contaminated water has been in talks for years, the operator has said that the tanks’ 1.37 million-ton storage capacity will be full in 2022. Tepco has further said that the tanks will need to be removed to make room for the decommissioning facilities. However, the water is contaminated as it comes in contact with the fuel before leaking into damaged basements and tunnels.

Is there any other way to get rid of the water?

Tepco and the Japanese government officials have been battling with the constant pumping out and in of the water. Several efforts in the past have been under discussion to tackle the problem including building an “ice wall” around the damaged reactors as well as the wells to draw the groundwater away before it reaches the reactors. Even though these methods have reportedly slowed the buildup of contaminated water, the process has not halted. Over the decade, Tepco has dealt with battled leaks, spills, malfunctioning equipment along with certain breaches in the safety. This has further impacted the cleanup efforts. 

Meanwhile, as per reports, the annual costs of water storage is estimated at nearly 100 billion yen or the US $912.66 million. The Japanese government’s April 12 decision comes three months ahead of Tokyo Olympics that have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reaction to Japan’s decision?

Soon after the Japanese government announced the decision, China’s foreign ministry swiftly called out the move and said it was “extremely irresponsible” and stressed that Beijing reserved the right to escalate the matter and take action.

South Korean government also criticised Japan’s move and said it was “totally unacceptable” while noting that it would lodge a formal complaint with Tokyo. Greenpeace Japan also reportedly said it “strongly condemned” the decision. Five special rapporteurs from the United Nations (UN) had said in March that the water stored in tanks still remained a huge risk and dismissed the ocean discharge plan to not be an “acceptable solution.”

Credits for ALL images: AP