Japan To Soon Decide On Release Of Wastewater From Fukushima NPP Into Sea - Suga

The Japanese government will decide in a few days whether to release treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea in light of strong opposition from fisheries industries, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th April, 2021) The Japanese government will decide in a few days whether to release treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea in light of strong opposition from fisheries industries, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday.

Last year, a government panel considered two options of dealing with the contaminated water to dump it into the ocean or evaporate it into the atmosphere. The panel eventually recommended the ocean release, arguing that it would pose little risk to human health. The decision, however, triggered a backlash among the fisheries industry and some local governments in the region.

"I want to make a decision [on the disposal method of the water] in a few days," Suga told reporters, as quoted by Kyodo, following a meeting with Hiroshi Kishi, the head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives.

Kishi, in turn, said that the organization's position on the issue had not changed and they still opposed the idea.

The water in the Fukushima nuclear power plant became radioactive following the Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Under the government's plan, the contaminated water, which is currently stored in special tanks with limited volume, will be filtrated by the ALPS filtering system before being released into the sea. The system reduces the concentration of radioactive material, except for tritium, to a normal level.

In addition to opposition among the local fishery companies, Japan's neighbors China and South Korea have also voiced their concerns over the release of the contaminated water into the environment.