How Japan plans to release Fukushima water into the sea
Japan is set to begin pumping more than a million tons of treated water from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on August 24, a process that will take decades to complete. - REUTERS
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00:00 Japan will begin pumping Fukushima water into the ocean.
00:06 The plan will see more than a million tonnes of treated radioactive water released and
00:11 take decades to complete.
00:14 It's now won approval from the UN's nuclear watchdog, despite fierce resistance from some
00:20 neighbouring countries and local residents.
00:23 So how will it work?
00:27 After Fukushima was hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011, water was used to cool
00:34 the destroyed reactor's fuel rods at the Daiichi nuclear power plant.
00:39 This contaminated radioactive water has been stored in huge tanks, enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized
00:46 swimming pools.
00:48 Officials say the tanks are near capacity and have to be removed for reconstruction.
00:54 Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has been distilling the water to remove isotopes.
01:01 Leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that's hard to separate from water.
01:08 TEPCO will dilute the water until tritium levels fall below regulatory limits, before
01:13 pumping it into the ocean from the coastal site.
01:18 Water containing tritium is routinely released from nuclear plants around the world and regulatory
01:24 authorities support TEPCO's plan.
01:27 Rafael Grossi is the International Atomic Energy Agency's chief.
01:32 The plan as it has been proposed and devised is in conformity with the agreed international
01:41 standards.
01:44 And its application, if the government decides to proceed with it, would have negligible
01:55 impact on the environment, meaning the water, fish and sediment.
02:04 Tritium is considered to be relatively harmless because it doesn't emit enough energy to penetrate
02:08 human skin, but when ingested it can raise cancer risks, a Scientific American article
02:16 said in 2014.
02:18 The water disposal will take decades to complete, with a rolling, filtering and dilution process
02:24 alongside the planned decommissioning of the plant.
02:28 And the water dispersion is one that is currently in use in many countries, including China,
02:35 Korea, the United States, France, in many countries that have releases of water that
02:44 contains certain radionuclides.
02:48 Fishing unions in Fukushima, however, have urged the government not to release the water,
02:53 arguing it would undo work to restore the damaged reputation of their fisheries.
02:58 Protesters marched in Tokyo in May with banners reading "Don't release contaminated water
03:04 into the ocean".
03:06 "The discharge of radioactive contaminated water is not just a problem for Japan, and
03:13 of course not just for Fukushima, it's a global problem.
03:16 So I think it's necessary for everyone to think about it."
03:22 Neighbouring countries have also expressed concern.
03:26 China has been the most vocal, calling Japan's plan "irresponsible, unpopular and unilateral".
03:32 In neighbouring South Korea, shoppers have been bulk buying sea salt due to fears of
03:37 contamination.
03:39 Japan has given repeated assurances that the water is safe.
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