Japan has planned to release into the sea 1.25 million tons of radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station.
Remember, in 2011 how a 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami rocked Japan and destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant? Back then three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima plant suffered meltdowns in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. Now, a decade later another catastrophe awaits the world, with links to the 2011 calamity.
Japan has planned to release into the sea more than a million tonnes of radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station, it said on Tuesday. Tepco, which manages the Fukushima nuclear station has been struggling with the build-up of contaminated water since bringing three reactors under control after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami knocked out electricity and cooling.
How the water got contaminated?
To keep melted uranium fuel rods cool, the company has been using a makeshift system of pumps and piping to inject water into damaged reactor vessels. The moment the water comes in contact with the fuel it gets contaminated. This contaminated water leaks into damaged basements and tunnels, where it mixes with groundwater.
The excess contaminated water is pumped out and treated before being stored in huge tanks crowding the site. As per Tepco, these tanks now hold about 1.3 million tonnes of radioactive water.
Tepco has been doing every possible thing to manage the reactors and the contaminated water which includes building an 'ice wall' around the damaged reactors. The company also dug wells to draw groundwater away before it reaches the reactors.
These measures did slow the process of contamination but could not stop the buildup of contaminated water. Not just that, over the years there have been leaks, spills, malfunctioning equipment, and safety breaches, hindering cleanup efforts.
Tepco in 2018, admitted to the fact that it had not filtered all dangerous materials out of the water, despite saying for years they had been removed.
What Japan plans to do
Japan announced it will release 1.25 million tons of treated wastewater contaminated by the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.
The government said it is the best way to deal with tritium and trace amounts of other radionuclides in the water.
Tepco plans to first filter the contaminated water again to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen hard to separate from water.
Tepco will then dilute the water until tritium levels fall below regulatory limits, before pumping it directly into the ocean from the coastal site.
Tritium is considered to be relatively harmless because it does not emit enough energy to penetrate human skin.
But when ingested it can raise cancer risks, a Scientific American article said in 2014.
Gradual, trial releases could start in two years and might take 40 years to complete.
The worries
Environmental groups, fisheries organizations, and neighboring countries immediately condemned the decision.
They are worried about the vast amount of 1.25 million tons of contaminated water to be released.
Marine scientists expressed concerns about the possible impact of the discharge on marine life and on fisheries.
Last October, the head of Japan's fisheries unions said releasing the water would have a 'catastrophic impact' on the industry.
South Korea says this decision could bring a direct and indirect impact on the safety of their people and surrounding environment.
(With Reuters Inputs)
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