In a contemporary global society, the challenges the world faces are no longer responsible to individual nations or regions; they are responsible for the entire planet. Various problems such as military conflicts, climate change, and global health crisis are just some of the most serious problems the world faces today. Release of radioactive water is another issue the world should be contemplating deeply today.
Table of Contents
– Cause of the Contaminated Water Release
– Actions
– Concerns regarding the Release
Cause of the Contaminated Water Release
The Fukushima contaminated water issue occurred due to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster after a huge earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima in March 2011. The earthquake and tsunami led to the power loss in the Fukushima Daiichi plant. After the power loss, the plant was not able to provide a cooling system for the reactors. As the cores were overheated, workers utilized water to cool down the cores. The water used was stored in tanks, which were highly contaminated with radioactive substances. After the incident, it was necessary to continuously cool the reactor cores, but the water could not be released; ultimately, the used water had to be stored in countless tanks.
Actions
To get rid of the water for the tanks’ storage capacity, in April 2021, the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) declared their plan to release the water into the ocean. The Japanese government argued that the release of treated water into the ocean has occurred commonly in the world.
After the decision to release nuclear waste stored at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) into the sea was finalized by the Japanese government in April 2021, Japan requested the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to conduct a detailed analysis of the potential safety risks associated with the water release. With a finalized and comprehensive report on handling and discharging ALPS-treated contaminated water, the IAEA issued a detailed safety-focused review. On 4 July 2023, the IAEA issued a comprehensive review and concluded that “the approach and activities for this discharge are consistent with relevant international safety standards and would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.”
Concerns regarding the Release
After the declaration, there was a constant rise of concerns about the impact of the seafood. TEPCO has been working to decontaminate the stored water. There have been other opinions that the water does not include radioactive substances except tritium, and the amount will not affect the world. However, releasing treated still radioactive water has increased the concerns among neighboring countries’ fishing industries and the environment, especially in South Korea and China. Citizens and fishermen in Japan raised their voices about the aspect the world will have about Fukushima and its seafood. Citizens and fishermen in neighboring countries also have raised their voices about environmental and safety issues. To illustrate, it is viewed that the Fukushima water release will negatively influence the culture of Haenyeo, or sea women, on Jeju island in South Korea. Although it was even inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2016, Haenyeos’ lives and their culture is encountering significant challenges because of the water release.
