Japan gets UN nuclear watchdog approval to release water from Fukushima disaster

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The UN nuclear watchdog has approved Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific, a proposal strongly condemned by China and South Korea.

A two-year review by the International Atomic Energy Agency found that the plans were in line with international safety standards. The agency concluded that the gradual discharge of the treated water, which is expected to take decades to complete, would have “negligible radiological effects on people and the environment”.

“We did a comparison with other options and we were able to confirm that this is the only option that has a proven track record,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.

He said the method has been used in operating nuclear plants around the world, including facilities in China and South Korea.

The Japanese government has indicated it will start discharging more than 1 million tonnes of so-called ALPS-treated water around the summer, but has not set a firm date as it awaits the IAEA’s assessment.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, receiving the IAEA report, said, “I will not approve a release that would have harmful effects on the health and environment of people in Japan or around the world.” “I will explain carefully both at home and abroad with a high degree of transparency.”

Following the devastating tsunami in March 2011, the cooling systems of the Fukushima reactors were destroyed, after which these reactors melted down. Later the water used to cool the reactors, along with groundwater flowing into the site, became contaminated with radioactive nuclides.

Contaminated water has been treated with an elaborate filtration system to remove most of the radioactive material. However, there is no practical way to filter out tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen.

Tritium has a half-life – the time required for half of the initial radioactive substance to decay – of 12.3 years. Radiation can be dangerous to health but Japan says the dose to Fukushima water will be less than 1/40 of safety standards, or one-seventh of the World Health Organization’s drinking water standard.

Nevertheless, the plan to release the water into the sea has been opposed by neighboring countries as well as by local fishermen, who are concerned about the loss of reputation.

Prior to the IAEA’s assessment, China’s ambassador to Japan said the report could not “pass” for releasing water, while state media condemned the planned discharge as a “crime against all humanity”.

South Korea’s Agriculture Minister Chung Hwang-kyun said the ban on agricultural products surrounding the Fukushima plant would continue until public concerns in the country were addressed.

According to a Gallup poll conducted last week, 78 percent of South Koreans expressed concern about possible contamination of sea water and seafood as a result of the release. Last month, Seoul’s metropolitan education office announced it would increase radiation tests on school food in response to concerns expressed by students and parents.

Additional reporting by Greg McMillan in Hong Kong