The first Japanese tests of the level of radioactivity in the water of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, after the start of its discharge into the sea on Thursday, delivered conclusive results on Friday but which should hardly be enough to appease Beijing.
The level of radioactivity in the samples taken by Tepco, the operator managing the plant and the discharge into the sea, is in line with forecasts and below the ceiling set by Japan at 1,500 becquerels/litre for this specific operation.
The Japanese standard for this type of spillage, modeled on the international standard, is usually 60,000 Bq/L. In addition, for drinking water, the World Health Organization (WHO) sets a ceiling of 10,000 Bq / L, seven times higher than the limit that Tokyo has set for water from Fukushima.
“We will continue to conduct analyzes daily over the next month”, then on a regular basis according to the planned plan, said a spokesperson for Tepco. With these communication efforts “we hope to dispel the various concerns”, he further underlined.
The water intended to be discharged into the Pacific Ocean comes from rain, groundwater and the injections needed to cool the cores of the three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant (north-eastern Japan) which had gone into meltdown after the 2011 tsunami.
This water has been stored for a long time in huge tanks on the site of the power plant and treated to rid it of its radioactive substances, with the exception of tritium, which is only dangerous in very high concentrated doses according to experts. .
This is why Tepco then proceeds to a dilution of the tritiated water with seawater before discharge into the ocean, so that its level of radioactivity does not exceed the target ceiling of 1,500 Bq/L.
In total, Japan intends to discharge more than 1.3 million m3 of tritiated water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean in an extremely gradual manner – until the beginning of the 2050s, according to the current schedule.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which controls the process, had already noted on Thursday that the tritium concentration in the water samples from the plant that it had taken this week before the start of the discharge into the sea , was “well below the operational limit” of 1,500 Bq/L.
The Japanese Ministry of the Environment is also carrying out its own tests, the first results of which will be published on Sunday. The Japanese Fisheries Agency, for its part, takes fish to check that they are not affected.
“By publishing this data every day and in complete transparency, we will prove that our actions are based on scientific evidence”, hammered Friday Yasutoshi Nishimura, the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti) , also in charge of nuclear-related files.
However, it is not guaranteed that these efforts will be enough to satisfy China.
Beijing on Thursday extended its July restrictions on food from parts of Japan, this time suspending imports of all Japanese seafood, in the name of “food security”.
Hong Kong and Macau also adopted restrictions on Japanese seafood this week.
Japan demands an immediate end to these “unfounded” measures, Mr. Nishimura recalled on Friday, while the Japanese fishing sector fears to be very weakened.
Other Asia-Pacific countries with better relations with Tokyo such as South Korea, Taiwan and Australia have on the contrary said they respect the favorable opinion of the IAEA on the discharge at sea.
However, the South Korean population is also worried, and several demonstrations against the dumping at sea in Fukushima have taken place in Seoul.
North Korea deemed the process “dangerous” on Thursday, and Manasseh Sogavare, Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, allied to Beijing, also condemned the operation on Friday, which he said will “have an impact on our people, our oceans, our economy and our livelihoods”.
25/08/2023 12:20:10 – Tokyo (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
