Seoul raises concern over Japan’s ‘short-term’ focused Fukushima release assessment

The South Korean government has again raised concern about Japan’s planned release of treated radioactive water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, saying Tokyo has only focused on the short-term impact on the marine environment. 

Korean officials and experts voiced their concerns to their Japanese counterparts at a special virtual session held last Friday, in regard to a draft report released by Tokyo Electric Power Co., the state-run operator of the wrecked plant, about radioactive impacts of its planned disposal. 

Last month, Tepco released a report saying the discharge of the radioactive water into the sea would have a “very minimal” impact on the environment, marine life and humans, based on a data simulation of the planned release. It also stressed that the disposal would be carried out in accordance to international security standards. 

“The (South Korean) experts raised questions over Japan’s simulation that only seemed to focus on the short-term (impact), not considering the changes it will have on the land and marine environment in the long term,” a Foreign Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday. 

The South Korean experts also took issue with the fact that the 10-square-kilometer area set by Tepco for the simulation to assess the radiation levels of seawater was too large, noting the expanded area could be to dilute the radiation level. 

The Seoul government plans to submit additional questions and concerns to Tokyo in written form. 

In April, Japan decided it would dump the 1.25 million metric tons of wastewater it has collected since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, into the sea in 2023. Japan said its disposal was unavoidable as the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant is expected to run out of storage space for the radioactive water by the summer of 2022. 

The decision was met with fierce backlash from neighbors including Korea, China and Russia, as well as from the Japanese fishing industry and environmental activists around the world.

Japan insists the wastewater is safe as it will be filtered and diluted to remove most of the radioactive substances, except for tritium, which it claims to be not dangerous in small amounts. But opponents say the sheer volume of water to be disposed could harm human health, food safety and the maritime environment. 

Korea has made diplomatic efforts to oppose Tokyo’s decision and is also pushing Japan to provide transparent information to ensure the safety of the planned discharge.

During the latest session, South Korea expressed regret that Japan released the report on the premise that it will release the radioactive water despite Seoul’s consistent concerns. It also voiced concerns over the “uncertain” impact the discharge will have on humans and the environment, the Foreign Ministry said.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)

Seoul raises concern over Japan’s ‘short-term’ focused Fukushima release assessment
Philippines Truth