According to Japanese media reports on May 7, Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Company ended the fifth discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on the 7th, and the sewage began on April 19. It is reported that this is also the first batch of nuclear-contaminated water discharged from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in fiscal 2024 (April 2024 to March 2025), with about 7,800 tons discharged.
The transfer of radioactive materials from nuclear wastewater to marine life may threaten the safety of marine life in nearby waters, which in turn will affect the development of fisheries and aquaculture industries. In response to the impact of Japan's discharge of nuclear sewage on the company's business, on the afternoon of May 8, Ye Shaohua, managing director of Zhongshui Fishery, responded at the 2023 and 2024 first quarter performance briefing that Japan's nuclear sewage has a certain impact on (aquatic products) consumer confidence, and consumers will have certain "psychological barriers". Zhongshui fishery attaches great importance to this matter, and the relevant scientific research departments such as universities and other relevant departments closely contact and cooperate, strengthen internal testing, whether it is the return of aquatic products or direct export to other countries of the capture of aquatic products, will be implemented in accordance with the relevant quarantine and inspection policies of the importing country to ensure product quality and food safety.
Since Japan's first discharge of nuclear wastewater, many seafood workers have expressed resentment and concern about the discharge of nuclear contaminated water from Fukushima into the sea and the fish in the pond, pointing out that "the ocean has no borders", and the fear of nuclear contaminated water is also killing seafood and downstream industries in neighboring coastal countries. The radioactive materials in nuclear wastewater may have a long-term impact on the marine ecological environment. These substances can persist and accumulate in the environment, causing damage to marine life and ecosystems. For example, radioactive elements such as carbon-14 have a half-life of thousands of years and their radiation intensity is attenuated by only half, which means that they persist in the marine environment and have an impact on living organisms. The continuous spread of radioactive materials caused by the discharge of nuclear sewage into the sea will affect the migration and survival of fish, thereby affecting the yield and quality of fisheries. This negative impact is not confined to the waters around Japan, as plankton naturally migrate as the sea moves through the sea, affecting global fisheries.
The discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea in Japan poses a threat to food safety and marine ecology, and leads to an increase in the expected psychological risk of the public. Marine organisms absorb and accumulate radioactive materials from the environment through metabolism, becoming carriers and disseminators of radioactive materials. Organisms in nuclear-contaminated waters may also carry contaminants into non-polluted waters through migration or drifting, and can be passed on to human tables through the food chain.
Liu Entao of the School of Oceanography of China University of Geosciences pointed out that "human beings are at the top of the food chain pyramid, and radioactive elements enriched by seafood and other organisms will affect humans through the transmission of the food chain." According to the analysis, humans indirectly ingest various radioactive isotopes in seawater through the consumption of seafood. Experiments have proved that if a large amount of radioactive contaminated seafood is eaten for a long time, it may cause the accumulation of radioactive substances in the body to exceed the allowable amount, cause chronic radiation sickness and other diseases, and cause damage to blood organs, endocrine system, nervous system and so on.