Japan begins releasing wastewater from Fukushima nuclear plant amid fears of sea contamination
Fukushima Nuclear Plant
Japan on Thursday (August 24) began releasing treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima-Daiich nuclear plant, said TEPCO, the operator of the plant. The discharge will release around 540 Olympic swimming pools' worth of water into the Pacific Ocean.
In 2011, the Fukushima nuclear plant was destroyed after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami and caused meltdowns of three of its reactors.
A video broadcast from TEPCO showed the wastewater release had begun.
The live video showed engineers sitting behind computer screens.
"Now, valves near the seawater transport pumps are opening," a TEPCO official said viavideo link from the site broadcast at the company's Tokyo headquarters.
The nuclear plant and Japanese government havebeen insisting that the release of wastewater is safe, but the operation has generated strong reaction from countries including China.
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The release is a vital step in decommissioning the nuclear plants which saw one of the world's worst nuclear accidents 12 years ago.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's atomic watchdog, has endorsed the plan of release of wastewater. The monitors from the IAEA were on site for the procedure.
TEPCO workers will take water samples later on Thursday.
'Like an atomic bomb'
The release of wastewater has been a controversial topic. Ahead of the release, there was a small protest near the site and about 100 others protested outside TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo.
"It's like dumping an atomic bomb in the ocean. Japan is the first country that was attacked with an atomic bomb in the world, and the prime minister of the country made this decision," said Kenichi Sato, 68, as quoted by Reuters.
More than 10 people have beenarrested after they triedentering the Japanese embassy in South Korean capital Seoul to protest against the wastewater release.
China on Thursday slammed Japan's plan as "extremely selfish and irresponsible". Chinese environment ministry has said that it will "track and study" impact of wastewater release on its waters.
Since 2011, TEPCO has collected 1.34 million cubic metres of contaminated water as it cooled down the wrecked reactors.
There are four releases of treated water planned from Thursday until March 2024. First discharge will take about 17 days. In this fiscal year, about 5 trillion becquerels - a measure of radioactivity - of tritium will be released, said TEPCO.
(With inputs from agencies)
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