Japan has on Thursday commenced the release of treated waste water from its nuclear plant at Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said it’s expecting to release about 200 to 210 cubic meters of treated water before Friday and a total of 7800 cubic meters over a period of 17days.
The government claims that discharging the water is urgently needed at the nuclear power plant to free up space and avoid impending leakage of the tanks.
Since 2011 after Japan’s worst earthquake and tsunami which caused the water within Fukushima to be contaminated by radioactive materials, the fisheries industry and tourism economy is yet to recover from the disaster.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a statement condemning the move which they described as a “selfish and irresponsible act.
Fukushima fishermen has also expressed their fear concerning the ongoing move as China’s customs department and Hong Kong has banned imports of seafood from Fukushima.
Despite the pushback, Japan remains on its stance that it’s plan is safe and if any abnormalities are detected the move will be suspended and investigation carried out immediately.
According to CNN, US and Taiwan has supported Japan agreeing that the level of tritium should have minimal impact.
The water will be passed through an undersea tunnel and discharge gradually from a point of one kilometers from the sea coast where it will be heavily diluted with clean water so it has only very low concentrations of radioactive material.
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) promised to monitor the move.
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