Tokyo, Japan – Greenpeace Japan strongly condemns the decision of the of Prime Minister Suga’s cabinet to dispose of over 1.23 million tons of radioactive waste water stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.[1] This completely disregards the human rights and interests of the people in Fukushima, wider Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.
The decision means that Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) can begin radioactive waste discharges from its nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. It has been said it would take 2 years to prepare for the discharge.
Kazue Suzuki, Climate/Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace Japan, said:
“The Japanese government has once again failed the people of Fukushima. The government has taken the wholly unjustified decision to deliberately contaminate the Pacific Ocean with radioactive wastes. It has discounted the radiation risks and turned its back on the clear evidence that sufficient storage capacity is available on the nuclear site as well as in surrounding districts.[2] Rather than using the best available technology to minimize radiation hazards by storing and processing the water over the long term, they have opted for the cheapest option [3], dumping the water into the Pacific Ocean.
The Cabinet’s decision failed to protect the environment and neglected the large-scale opposition and concerns of the local Fukushima residents, as well as the neighboring citizens around Japan. Greenpeace stands with the people of Fukushima, including fishing communities, in their efforts to stop these plans,” said Suzuki.
Greenpeace Japan’s polling has shown that the majority of residents in Fukushima and the wider Japan are opposed to discharging this radioactive waste water into the Pacific. Additionally, the nationwide federation of Japan Fisheries Cooperatives has continued to express its complete opposition to ocean discharges.
United Nations’ human rights special rapporteurs warned the Japanese government in June 2020 and again in March 2021 that discharging the water into the environment breaches the rights of Japanese citizens and its neighbors including Korea. They called on the Japanese government to delay any decision on discharging the contaminated water into the sea until the crisis of COVID-19 is over and appropriate international consultations are held[4].
Though the decision has been announced, it will take around two years before these discharges commence at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director at Greenpeace International, said:
“In the 21st century, when the planet and in particular the world’s oceans are facing so many challenges and threats, it is an outrage that the Japanese government and TEPCO think they can justify the deliberate dumping of nuclear waste into the Pacific Ocean. The decision is a violation of Japan’s legal obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea[5], (UNCLOS), and will be strongly resisted over the coming months.”
Since 2012, Greenpeace has proactively campaigned against plans to discharge Fukushima contaminated water – submitting technical analysis to UN agencies, holding seminars with local residents of Fukushima with other NGOs, and petitioning against the discharges and submitted to relevant Japanese government bodies.
Furthermore, a recent Greenpeace Japan report detailed alternatives to the current flawed decommissioning plans for Fukushima Daiichi, including options to stop the continued increase of contaminated water.[6] Greenpeace will continue to lead the campaign to stop radioactive waste water from being discharged into the Pacific.
ENDS
Notes:
[1] TEPCO, report on ALPS treated water
[2] Greenpeace report October 2020, Stemming the Tide
[3] METI, “Tritiated Water Task Force Report”, June 2016
[4]United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner June 2020 and March 2021
[5] Duncan Currie, Japan’s plan for radioactive water defies international law
[6] Satoshi Sato “Decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station” March 2021
Contacts:
Shaun Burnie, Senior Nuclear Specialist, Greenpeace East Asia:
[email protected], +447904958286
Mitsuhisa Kawase, Communications Officer, Greenpeace Japan: [email protected], +81 (0)70-3195-4165
Greenpeace International Press Desk: [email protected], +31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)
For the latest Greenpeace International press releases, please follow us on twitter @greenpeacepress
Discussion
Hmmm...4 days for Ce 134 and 137 on surface water to stream from Japan to California. FYi the non-political boycott has begun. Several people I know will not eat fish etc coming from the Pacific ocean due to health concerns. Because where do the fish actually travel from? This nuclear contaminated water dump into the ocean will destroy far eastern fish and other related world markets. What is the cost to Japan and all the Pacific Rim countries combined in lost world fish and related market revenue vs.the cost of long term nuclear water storage? Has anyone done this calculation?
Stop selfish decision! Ocean is not human’s thing.
If it's so clean drink it, or use it on your own crops. If they dump this water into our ocean, boycott Sony, Toyota & Honda world wide.
Japan is discharging 20 grams of radioactive tritiated water, not 1.23 Milion litres!!! : 1) The stored water has been ALREADY filtered of all the radioactive elements with exception of the radioactive isotope of hydrogen, Tritium. This is mainly because of the strong similarity with hydrogen itself. The only way to separate them is to boil the water because of their different boiling temperature. Such process would be an enormous waste of energy and way more contaminating than the tritium itself. 2) The amount of tritium in terms of radioactivity is around 700k bkl. It is planed to be diluted of a 500 factor that would bring it to 1500 bkl. The OMS threshold for potable water is 10000 bkl !!!! 3) It is planned to be filtered again before the release if any other rad element except tritium remains. The first realise is planned to be in 2023 waiting to the 12 years halving of the tritium radioactivity (reduce by half the previous values). The water will not be released all at once but over 12 years steps. This published news are instrumental and have no scientific basis. We must be very careful, and strongly doubt the news where no data is reported, and where there is an absolute lack of scientific disclosure.
why does Biden approve this?
Japan, could include the treatment cost of Iodine and Cesium or other radioactive minerals . The supply of power should be integrated with international bodies like MEAgreements who monitor the input and outlet through independent labs for International court of Justice on matters related to Air Pollution across boundaries , river pollution at source for downstream users, water discharge into sea ( bio-accumulation of pollutants)
Where is the petition on this subject?
Simple question. If the treated water is safe, WHY Japanese don't take it? They can use it for farming, drinking, etc.
Japan releases nuclear-contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean.Yes, sir.
It's not the amount of water being released that matters but the amount of radiation, which is a miniscule amount over 30 years.
You’re right, it’s not just about the sheer amount of water, but the amount of radiation in them. The water planned for discharge is currently 1.23 million tons in tanks. 72% of this water (around 885,000 cubic meters) has to be passed through a secondary ALPS process - this will take some years. On the assumption that ALPS does succeed in removing radionuclides such as strontium-90, iodine 129, ruthenium 106, cobalt 60, etc, to levels below the regulatory limit – the total amount of activity in the processed water is still enormous. For example, the regulatory limit for strontium-90(Sr-90) is 30 Bq per liter. Even if the concentration is this level, when multiplied by the 1.23 million cubic meters and have all of this water be discharged over time with a 30 year half life – its a major source of radioactive strontium to the environment.
It is only about the amount of radiation in the water. The main point here is where you get the measured values? how doy you quantify this completely subjective "enormous" adjective...? "to levels below the regulatory limit – the total amount of activity in the processed water is still enormous." The regulatory limit for nuclear wastes to be released in nature are LOWER than the radioactivity that you find in nature itself..........
the waste water will reach US coasts by ocean current. I can't believe US is backing this.
Politicians live by east coast, they don't care what arrive on west coat.
US is trying to back whatever China opposes. fake news by US allies everywhere. comments disabled in many US news. when will this cold war end? I want my freedom of press back.
sad
This is going to be an irreversible disaster for not only maritime lives but also for all lives on earth. The tritium-containing sea water will be evaporated forming contaminated clouds and will rain on you no matter where you are. How much more money should be spent to recollect all the tritium now contained near Fukushima once they are dispersed into ocean and later found to be fatal to our environment? Perhaps 1,000 times or perhaps 1,000,000 times more money than what is going to be required to contain them in the current fashion just by expanding the facility every year. It's that irreversible. Important: The total amount of tritium should be regulated and no attention should be paid to the concentration before release. They can add as much sea water to reduce the concentration before release and, in so-doing, proportionally large amount of sea water will be used and contaminated even before release. Japan is supposedly a rich country with many islands to spare and should solve the problem within its own land and not causing a global scale disaster.
If Japanese Government didn't choose the best way to resolve the pollution problem is because money. Why don't we launch a fundraising campaign to resolve it? It's not only about the human also the planet.
I signed the petition for this on japan greenpeace website and I would like to spread this information and let my friends in the world know about it and sign the petition but I can not find a link in English. Where can I find it ?
Hi, we do not have an English petition at the moment, but we've created a website to share some stories of those who have been affected by Fukushima and work that's been done since the disaster 10 years ago. Check it out here >> https://fukushimatestimony.jp/en/
How can this disaster be allowed to happen? What can we do to stop it?
It's not a disaster. It's fear-mongering. The only radioactive contaminant left in the water after being treated is tritium, which is an isotope of hydrogen. It's the least radioactive of all the radioactive elements, and it's going to be extremely diluted in the water to the point that one quart of the released water will have less radiation than four bananas.
If that's the case, the japanese government should have just handed out bottles of these waters to japanese residents. One bottle for each in Japan should be working. They can even have a cheaper water prise for shower and so on! Hooray!!!
If it's so safe, prove that it's safe by using it as water for Japanese to drink or as agricultural water. Freshwater is an expensive natural resource, so why throw it away? Dilution? It means that 10,000 tons of lead can be diluted to a concentration below the legal level and released into the Sumida River for 30 years. I want you to know that people around the world don't think wrong because they are brainwashed with fake information from the government and the media like your Japanese do.
Unfortunately, the contaminated water contains many radionuclides and not just tritium. On the assumption that ALPS does succeed in removing radionuclides such as strontium-90, iodine 129, ruthenium 106, cobalt 60, etc, to levels below the regulatory limit – the total amount of activity in the processed water is still enormous. For example, the regulatory limit for strontium-90(Sr-90) is 30 Bq per liter. Even if the concentration is this level, when multiplied by the 1.23 million cubic meters and have all of this water be discharged over time with a 30 year half life – its a major source of radioactive strontium to the environment.
It is only about the amount of radiation in the water. The main point here is where you get the measured values? how doy you quantify this completely subjective "enormous" adjective...? "to levels below the regulatory limit – the total amount of activity in the processed water is still enormous." The regulatory limit for nuclear wastes to be released in nature are LOWER than the radioactivity that you find in nature itself..........
Japan government is irresponsible ! Japan been viewed as a country with great achievements after WWII and Asian countries including Malaysia have a look East policy to set Japan "lead by example". The good image of Japan vanish with this irresponsible move, it is a shame you dispose away contaminated water like you dump harmful rubbish to your neighbour ! From this moment onwards , I will not respect a single Japanese because you allow your leader to do this irreversible damage to our beloved ocean
They shouldn't leave this water into the sea, they are contaminating ALL of us! They should leave this water into one of their vulcans and use their own ground to decontaminate!
I think when we think simplicitically we think in terms of good/bad and black/ white. That is the problem with today and why so many people are fighting with their ignorance. Especially in America. I don't claim to know the answer, but I know we should read studies that are valid and information that we've traced to good sources before we start forming or speaking our opinions. When you argue from ignorance you always lose. Also, to the person who said we lived fine before nuclear power obviously isn't considering other factors that have changed either. Again, I'm not saying there's no other way, but let's at least do research before assuming we are right or trying to make someone else seem to be a joke in a know it all way. Especially when it comes to opinions. It's called an opinion and not a fact for a reason. If you can't respect and consider other people's opinions without being close minded and rude then you are the one who looks ignorant.
Can we sustain life without nuclear power? Can I dream so in reality?
Sorry there's laugh in my head, people lived fine before nuclear power appeared. And nuclear power is not only in Fukushima. Wish you a happy eating seafood in two years.