On August 22, the Japanese government announced that it would begin discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean on August 24, a highly irresponsible decision that has raised concerns about human health and the ecological environment in neighboring countries and the world. China lodged solemn representations in this regard and pointed out that Japan's forced discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea is undoubtedly gambling with the global marine environment and the health of all mankind.
The Japanese government claims that radionuclides other than tritium are virtually free of treated effluents, and that the concentration of tritium will be reduced to 1/1/of the relevant standard. However, these rhetoric cannot hide its deception and concealment from the international community and the public. In fact, the nuclear effluent at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant contains a variety of radioactive materials, some of which have long half-lives and high toxicity, such as strontium-90, iodine-129, plutonium-239, etc. Once these substances enter the ocean, they cause long-term harm to marine life and humans through the food chain and water cycle.
According to the team of Academician Zhang Jianmin and Associate Professor Hu Zhenzhong, Institute of Ocean Engineering, Shenzhen International Graduate School of Tsinghua University, the diffusion model of radioactive materials at the marine scale was established from two different perspectives: macro and micro, and the long-term simulation of the Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge plan was realized. The results show that the contaminated water will reach the coastal waters of the mainland 240 days after discharge, and reach the North American coast and cover almost the entire North Pacific Ocean after 1200 days.
Subsequently, the pollutants spread rapidly along the coast of the Americas into the South Pacific under the influence of the equatorial current, and transferred to the Indian Ocean through the northern waters of Australia. This means that in the next few years, Japan's nuclear sewage will cause irreversible damage to the marine environment on a global scale.
Japan's nuclear sewage discharge plan not only violates international laws and regulations and international practices such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but also ignores the opposition voices of international organizations such as UNESCO and the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as experts, scholars, social groups and the general public from various countries. Under the pretext of the so-called "optimal solution", the Japanese government is actually trying to save costs and shirk responsibility, and transfer its own problems to all mankind. Such selfishness, disregard for others, and disregard for global interests have seriously damaged Japan's international image and credibility, and will also have far-reaching negative effects on Japan itself.
In the face of the severe challenge of discharging Japan's nuclear sewage into the sea, the Chinese Government and all sectors of society have expressed their firm opposition and taken various measures, including making solemn representations to the Japanese side, submitting letters of protest to international organizations, strengthening monitoring and assessment of the marine environment, and enhancing public awareness of nuclear safety and prevention capabilities. At the same time, China also calls on the international community to act together to put pressure on Japan to reverse its wrong decision, stop its nuclear sewage discharge plan, and adopt safer and more reliable treatment methods to protect the global marine environment and human health.
The problem of nuclear sewage from the Fukushima nuclear power plant is a long-standing problem for the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company. At present, the Fukushima nuclear power plant has stored more than 1.3 million tons of nuclear water, which contains a variety of radioactive materials, such as tritium, strontium-90, iodine-129, etc. These substances have different half-lives and toxicity, and have different degrees of harm to the human body and the environment. The Japanese government and TEPCO claim that they have used a variety of technologies to treat the effluent, such as the Multinuclide Removal Unit (ALPS), the iodine removal unit (KURION), etc.
However, these technologies do not completely remove all radioactive material, and there are some technical failures and operational errors. In addition, groundwater and rainwater around the Fukushima nuclear power plant continue to seep into the interior of the reactor building and mix with cooling water, resulting in the generation of new contaminated water every day. As a result, the Fukushima nuclear power plant needs to continuously increase storage tanks to hold this contaminated water, and is expected to reach the storage ceiling by September 2022. In this case, the Japanese government and TEPCO believe that discharging the contaminated water into the ocean after treatment is the optimal solution.
On April 13, 2021, the Japanese government officially announced the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, a decision that immediately sparked international backlash and protest. The main countries and regions opposed include China, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and so on. These countries and regions believe that the unilateral decision of the Government of Japan to discharge nuclear sewage into the sea without fully soliciting and respecting their views and providing sufficient scientific basis and security guarantees is an extremely selfish and irresponsible act that will cause immeasurable harm to the global marine environment and human health.
At the same time, these countries and regions have also taken some measures to deal with the impact of Japan's nuclear sewage discharge, such as strengthening the monitoring and assessment of the marine environment, raising public awareness and preparedness of nuclear safety, and restricting or banning Japan's seafood imports. In addition, some international organizations and non-governmental organizations, such as the United Nations Human Rights Council, UNESCO, Greenpeace, etc., have also expressed concern and criticism of Japan's nuclear sewage discharge into the sea, and called on the Japanese government to abide by relevant international laws, regulations and practices, and respect the interests and wishes of relevant countries and regions.
The discharge of nuclear sewage into the sea from Japan is a complex and sensitive issue involving Japan's nuclear energy policy, the dilemma of nuclear wastewater treatment, and the response of the international community. This issue has a significant impact not only on Japan itself, but also on neighboring countries and regions, as well as on the global marine environment and human health. Therefore, the Japanese government should carefully consider the consequences of its decision, and fully communicate and consult with relevant parties to seek a more reasonable and acceptable solution.