Radioactive Fukushima fish found ahead of Japan's release of treated water from nuclear plant

Over 12 years after Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant accident after a devastating tsunami, a fish caught near drainage outlets at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was discovered to contain radioactive caesium levels 180 times above the safety limits.

The black rockfish, caught on 18 May, was found to have 18,000 becquerels per kilogram of caesium-137, surpassing the legal maximum level of 100 becquerels per kg.

The rockfish was caught in an area where rainwater from the regions around reactors one, two, and three, which experienced meltdowns during the March 2011 disaster, flows into the inner breakwater. The sediment in the inner breakwater's seabed has a caesium concentration of over 100,000 becquerels per kg.

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Amid this latest discovery of lethal radioactivity, the prospect of Japan releasing 1.3 million tonnes of treated water from the Fukushima plant has raised concerns in the region and has worried the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Hong Kong has even threatened to ban food imports from 10 Japanese prefectures if the water release proceeds as planned.

In response, China has initiated blanket radioactivity testing of Japanese seafood imports, leading some wholesalers to stop handling produce from Japan.

Impact of release of treated Fukushima water minimal: Japan

Meanwhile, when asked about the concerns surrounding the water discharge, a Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) official reassured that they were confident the impact on the public and environment would be minimal, the Guardian reported.

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TEPCO has been periodically removing fish from inside the port since 2012, using fishnets to prevent them from escaping the port. Between May 2022 and May 2023, a total of 44 fish with caesium levels exceeding 100 becquerels per kg have been found in the Fukushima plant port, with 90% of them caught in or near the inner breakwater. Notably, an eel caught in June 2022 and a rock trout caught in April 2023 also exhibited particularly high radioactivity levels.

Monitoring of radioactively contaminated fish

Regular monitoring of fish from the inner breakwater was suspended in January 2016 after the installation of nets to contain potentially contaminated fish within the area. However, after a black rockfish with excessive radioactive concentrations was caught off the coast of Soma in January 2022, monitoring resumed in the region.

As a consequence of the detected radiation, shipments of black rockfish caught off Fukushima prefecture were halted in February 2022. These shipments have not resumed since.

Authorities suspect that the high radioactivity levels found in the tested specimen indicate it might have escaped from the nuclear plant's port. All seafood species from the areas surrounding the plant are subject to regular radioactivity monitoring.

In August,Japan is set to commence the release of over 1.3 million tonnes of treated water from the Fukushima plant, a process expected to span decades. Although approved by the IAEA, this operation has faced criticism from China, and opposition parties in South Korea, and has raised concerns among some Pacific islands.

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