On the 22nd local time, the Japan Atomic Energy Regulatory Commission officially approved the nuclear contaminated water discharge plan after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company, believing that there was no safety problem.
Opposition inside and outside Japan has been raging against the discharge of sewage into the sea, but the Japanese government and TEPCO have been moving for more than a year since the plan was announced, with the intention of passing on its own crisis to the international community. How to supervise after the start of sewage discharge is a major problem.
Schematic diagram of part of the nuclear sewage discharge facility at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Image source: Screenshot of the NHK video
"The longer the time, the more advantageous it is"
According to the plan, the nuclear sewage will be diluted with seawater, temporarily stored in shafts and confirmed at concentration, and then discharged through submarine tunnels about 1 km offshore.
In fact, TEPCO began construction near the Fukushima nuclear power plant in April, but announced that it would only be carrying out preparatory work. Japan's Atomic Energy Regulatory Commission endorsed TEPCO's sewage plan in May, and the outside world believes that Japan's nuclear regulator has "given the green light" to the plan.
Lu Yaodong, a researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out in an interview with China News Network that the Japanese government is very supportive of TEPCO's plan, and the discharge of pollutants will eventually be carried out by the government and enterprises.
After the 2011 "311" earthquake, TEPCO temporarily stored a large amount of nuclear waste generated by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which was destroyed by the melting of the core of the earthquake reactor, and temporarily stored in a water storage tank. Since the Japanese government no longer intends to build more water storage tanks, its reserves will reach their limits around November 2022.
In fact, nuclear waste could have been treated better, and the Japanese government has drawn up a variety of schemes for solidization and burial in the ground, evaporation release, and discharge into the ocean. Among them, it is obviously better to solidify nuclear sewage and bury it in the ground, but the cost is tens or even hundreds of times that of discharging the sea.
The emission timeline released by Japan is also intriguing. TEPCO will begin full construction of nuclear sewage discharge facilities with the consent of the local government, and the sewage discharge plan is expected to start in the spring of 2023. Although the announcement is in April 2021, it will take two years to "prepare", which some analysts pointed out is actually a delay in time, hoping that the international community will acquiesce in the decision as a fait accompli.
Lu Yaodong believes that in addition to technical coordination, the Japanese government and TEPCO also have some scruples about opposition at home and abroad, and the longer the time is stretched, the more favorable it is to them.
"Lack of regulation"
According to the Japanese government, once the pollution starts, it lasts for at least 30 years. According to data released by TEPCO, 63 radioactive substances are contained in Fukushima's nuclear wastewater. TEPCO believes that after treatment, except for "tritium", most of the radioactive elements in nuclear sewage can be removed.
However, the German Greenpeace report shows that japan's current technology cannot treat strontium-90 and carbon-14 in nuclear wastewater, and the half-lives of these two radionuclides are 50 years and 5730 years, respectively, which are more harmful than tritium.
Jin Yongming, a professor at the Ocean University of China, pointed out in an interview with China News Network that the discharge of nuclear waste into the sea will definitely have an impact on fisheries, the marine environment and human health, but it is difficult to dynamically monitor factors such as emission density, degree and seawater flow, and at the same time, to figure out the degree of biological pollution, it is necessary to carry out specific and long-term experiments. Japan has seized on this loophole.
For follow-up monitoring, Jin Yongming believes that there is currently a lack of supervision for nuclear sewage discharge in the world. He noted that while a multinational and multidisciplinary expert group, with the International Atomic Energy Agency as the main body, could be established to keep track of it, even if such an institution were to be established, the investigation reports issued by it would lack mandatory.
The lack of international law regulation, coupled with the relatively low cost of emissions into the sea, made Japan finally choose the "shortcut" that saves the most time, effort and money. Jin Yongming concludes that the essence of this scheme is "from one kind of pollution to another, from the pollution of one place to the pollution of many places."
Insist on advancing in the face of opposition
Since the Japanese government announced the plan to discharge sewage into the sea, the opposition of the "parties" Fukushima has never stopped.
According to a April questionnaire conducted by the Fukushima Min.D., 44 of the 59 local officials in Fukushima Prefecture believed that the plan was not understood by the local population, noting that if these figures are not improved, the negative effects "will be inevitable."
Fishing is important in Japan, but the plan to send sewage into the sea has put the industry at serious risk. When Hiroshi Kishi, president of the Japan National Fisheries Federation, and Tetsu Nozaki, president of the Fukushima Prefectural Fisheries Federation, met with Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Koichi Ogiyata in April, they took a tough stance and said, "We firmly oppose the discharge of sewage into the sea, and this position has not wavered in the slightest."
With about nine months left before the start of the sewer program, NHK also pointed out in the report that how to promote the plan amid strong opposition from the local people and fishery practitioners is a major problem facing the Japanese government and TEPCO.
In this regard, Lu Yaodong believes that the Japanese central government is very supportive of the sewage plan, but also has to worry about local interest groups. He pointed out that the Japanese government will certainly continue to persuade the Fukushima local government and the fisheries association, while steadily advancing the plan, and should not delay the start of the sewage discharge.
Infographic: In April 2021, after Japan announced its nuclear sewage drainage plan, a large supermarket in Seoul, South Korea, hung signs such as "Boycott Japanese Goods" in the seafood sales area. China News Service reporter Zeng Nai photographed
"One of the greatest nuclear disasters of our time"
The international community, including China and the ROK, has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction and concern about Japan's discharge of nuclear wastewater. When Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshinori Hayashi visited Fiji and Palau in May, a civil society group called the Pacific Community described Japan's discharge into the sea as "one of the biggest nuclear disasters of our time" and urged Japan to reconsider its plans.
However, the Government of Japan has been bent on going its own way and has been moving aggressively, and although it is ostensibly actively engaged with the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has so far not provided sufficient and credible explanations on the legitimacy of the programme, the reliability of data on contaminated water and the effectiveness of purification devices.
Regarding the Japanese approach, Lu Yaodong believes that the Japanese government tries to use the method of crisis public relations to resolve the criticism of the international community, including strengthening ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and actually hopes that it will endorse the discharge of pollutants.
Lu Yaodong further pointed out that as of now, Japan's actions are actually only to resolve the negative impact that Japan's national image may suffer, and have not taken into account the international community, let alone considered the impact of sewage discharge on the entire marine environment and the relations between neighboring countries, as well as the common interests of the entire region.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on July 22 that the Japanese side has always ignored the legitimate concerns and reasonable demands of the international community and the Japanese people, and instead of conducting full and meaningful consultations with stakeholders and relevant international institutions, it has insisted on promoting the construction of the sea discharge pipeline and the approval of the sea discharge plan. We firmly oppose this practice of the Japanese side in ignoring the concerns of all parties and attempting to create established facts. The disposal of nuclear contaminated water in Fukushima is at stake in the global marine environment and public health in Pacific Rim countries, and is by no means a private matter for the Japanese family.
Wang Wenbin pointed out that China once again urges Japan to earnestly fulfill its due international obligations, dispose of nuclear contaminated water in a scientific, open, transparent and safe manner, stop pushing the sea discharge plan, and refrain from initiating nuclear pollution water discharge to the sea without authorization until it has fully consulted and reached an agreement with stakeholders and relevant international agencies. If the Japanese side insists on putting its own selfish interests above the international public interest and insists on taking a dangerous step, it will certainly pay the price for its irresponsible behavior and leave a historical stain.