IAEA on Fukushima Wastewater Dumping: Final Decision Up To Japan

 So, the IAEA just told Japan that the decision whether or not to dump radioactive water into the Pacific was Japan’s decision — in direct violation of the 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution. Right after the March 2011 accident happened, what would have been considered illegal dumping, was allowed, with the Japanese government giving “TEPCO an exemption” (Time Magazine).

Why do I have a problem with this? Perhaps it has something to do with TEPCO’s track record. In the past, TEPCO has admitted to concealing data, and only when confronted, admitted to their errors. They were also recently caught using dosimeters meant to record higher amounts only, thus claiming the treated water is down to “safe” levels (Fukushima Diary)!

TEPCO has also failed to fully explore other options (like storing tritiated water until it turns into helium or binding the radionuclides into a solid form). According to a 2013 RFI, TEPCO received proposals for "storing tritium-contained water," as well as "many proposals on solidification, such by plaster, gelling and freezing." However, "development time, size and cost" was cited as reasons why eventual "environmental release" was cited as the best option. In that same RFI, TEPCO seemingly expresses more concern over their reputation and cost of solutions, rather than solving the problem!

TEPCO also downplayed how many radionuclides were contained in the ALPS treated wastewater. According to marine chemist Ken Buesseler, "In addition to tritium, more dangerous isotopes with longer radioactive lifetimes, such as ruthenium, cobalt, strontium, and plutonium, sometimes slip through the ALPS process, something TEPCO only acknowledged in 2018." So, pretty much, TEPCO has been hiding until 2018! SimplyInfo has also reported that it was revealed that ALPS is not be able to do what it claims.

TEPCO is likewise being secretive about the impact of a March 2022 7.2 earthquake, which caused more damage to Reactor 1. According to Fukushima Diary, the "added damage forced Tepco to increase the injection volume of coolant water by more than 50% per hour" — adding to the problem of contaminated water storage.

California climate watchdog group, Public Watch Dogs, points out accurately that even diluted, radioactivity in Fukushima wastewater "could accumulate in parts of the marine environment and living organisms through bioaccumulation."

The solution? Force TEPCO/Japan to explore other options, rather than cause further damage to an ecosystem already in peril from #ClimateChange. Fukushima is not just Japan’s problem — it’s the world’s problem, and we need to work together to solve it!

#WaterIsLife #NoNukes

Water tanks at Fukushima

Sources:

IAEA: Decision on Fukushima wastewater release up to Japan
By Mari Yamaguchi, November 18, 2022
https://apnews.com/article/science-japan-business-wastewater-international-atomic-energy-agency-c38b803d6adac9de3d5f4c970673ea2c

Letter to Japanese Government on Fukushima radiation dumping
June 5, 2022
https://publicwatchdogs.org/letter-to-japanese-government-on-fukushima-radiation-dumping/

Damage in reactor 1 assumably exacerbated by M7.3 quake from mid March
by Mochizuki , March 27, 2022
https://fukushima-diary.com/2022/03/damage-in-reactor-1-assumably-exacerbated-by-m7-3-quake-from-mid-march/ 

Opposition pushes back Tepco’s contaminated water discharge
by Mochizuki, December 5, 2021
https://fukushima-diary.com/2021/12/opposition-pushes-back-tepcos-contaminated-water-discharge/

Japan plans to release Fukushima's wastewater into the ocean
By Dennis Normile, 13 Apr 2021
https://www.science.org/content/article/japan-plans-release-fukushima-s-contaminated-water-ocean

Tepco concealed wrong analysis of seawater for over 6 months / Tepco “Too busy to verify”
by Mochizuki , January 15, 2014
https://fukushima-diary.com/2014/01/tepco-concealed-wrong-analysis-of-seawater-for-over-6-months-tepco-too-busy-to-verify/

Fukushima Daiichi ALPS Water Treatment System Hits Big Problem
Editor, December 31, 2013
https://simplyinfo.org/2013/12/fukushima-daiichi-alps-water-treatment-system-hits-big-problem/

PDF: Summary of major responses to the RFI (classified into items and categories) [Topic 2 : Treatment of contaminated water]
IRID/METI, November 2013
http://irid.or.jp/cw/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/RFI_Result1118_1_21.pdf  

Time Magazine - Fukushima: Dumping into the Sea
By Eben Harrell,  April 05, 2011
https://science.time.com/2011/04/05/fukushima-dumping-into-the-sea/



 

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