TOKYO, Jul 23 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), yesterday authorised a controversial plan, to release radioactive wastewater from a crippled nuclear plant, in Japan’s north-east into the Pacific Ocean, as the public took to the streets in opposition.
The NRA held an extraordinary meeting yesterday and gave the final approval to the contentious plan, submitted by the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO), in line with a government decision.
The government and TEPCO are planning to start releasing toxic water from the disaster-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant next spring, from around one kilometre off the Pacific coast in Fukushima Prefecture.
Under the plan, the wastewater, which contains radioactive tritium, as a result of being used to cool down melted nuclear fuel at the disaster-stricken plant, will be discharged through an underwater tunnel into the Pacific Ocean, after being treated.
The plant had its key cooling functions knocked out, after being battered by a massive earthquake-triggered tsunami, just over a decade ago, resulting in the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.
The tainted wastewater being stored in tanks at the plant, is expected to reach capacity next year and the lengthy process of dumping the radioactive wastewater into the ocean is projected to take several decades.
TEPCO signed an agreement with Fukushima Prefecture and the plant hosting towns of Okuma and Futaba, to construct the dumping facilities.
After the NRA approved TEPCO’s draft plan in May, only 1,200 responses from the public have been gathered, many of which suggested the NRA “should clearly explain the plan’s safety to the public,” and consider alternative options to polluting the ocean, such as “making storage tanks bigger and expanding the land space.”
The officials discussed the public’s opinion and concluded, what TEPCO has done so far, with the radioactive wastewater and its plan are “reasonable,” Japan’s public broadcaster reported.
Japan’s fisheries industry, however, has maintained its ardent opposition to the plan, as it will almost certainly cause further damage to the industry’s reputation in the region.
In addition, a number of countries and regions continue to impose restrictions on Japanese agricultural and fishery products, as a result of the initial Fukushima crisis, amid continued concerns about the safety of the produce.
Regular citizens also showed their staunch opposition to the contentious plan yesterday, by protesting on the streets in Tokyo, despite the scorching heat to voice their indignation.
Some protestors used megaphones to express their discontent, while others held banners warning about radioactivity at the plant.
Meanwhile, some of Japan’s neighbours have voiced their sincere concerns and objections, about radioactive wastewater being discharged into the Pacific Ocean.– NNN-NHK
