Water released from Fukushima nuclear plant safe, says Japan Embassy in Nairobi

Water being released from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station into the Pacific Ocean by Japan is safe for aquatic animals and human beings.

This is according to the Embassy of Japan Foreign Affairs Ministry in Nairobi.

Last week Thursday, the plant’s operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) started releasing contaminated water from nuclear reactors at the power plant.

The exercise has raised fears among environmentalists, fishing communities and neighbouring nations including China, South Korea, Russia and Hong Kong over the safety of the ocean waters after discharge.

‘‘Before the discharge, the water goes through purification exercise to remove nuclides through a process known as Advanced Liquid Processing System(ALPS)’’ explained  a spokesperson of the Japanese Embassy

He added: ‘‘It also passes another process to reduce tritium concentration to 1,500 becquerels per litre (Bq/L), which is far below the regulatory standards of 60,000 bq/l  through dilution(more than 100 times ) with seawater (less than 1 per 100  of the regulatory standard for other than tritium).’’

He was addressing the media at the embassy buildings in Nairobi.

The country has been grappling with excess storage tanks with contaminated water on the site, now exceeding 1,000 thus no room for further expansion.

This forced it in April 2021 to think of how to do away with the water by purifying radioactive materials.

The contaminated water in the reactors was due to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 caused by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

The envoy said the ALPS had been approved by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nation’s nuclear agency, which has agreed to monitor and review the discharge process which will take between 30 to 40 years.

On June 4, the IAEA gave a comprehensive report summarising a series of activities, which it conducted, supporting the ALPS process and giving it a clean bill of health.

"It’s unfortunate that some country cast doubt on the process trusted by IAEA. And many of their nuclear plants (at least in 2021 on their records) were releasing the water with more Tritium density,’’ he said.

He dismissed the smear campaign by China, which he said has been focal in opposing the process, saying they are doing it without any scientific proof unlike them.

China, through its foreign ministry recently went ahead and banned seafood imports from Japan over the discharge in what they said is in order to “prevent the risk of radioactive contamination of food safety.’’

He said suggestions by the above countries and environmentalists that Japan should instead do air evaporation saying it cannot monitor its effects if there was.

‘‘Unlike water system discharge, evaporation in the air cannot help us and IAEA to monitor its effects if there will be. Through discharge into the ocean, we are now able to monitor this,’’ he said.

He added so far they have remained with four reactors that are being decommissioned at the Fukushima plant.