The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) began trial operation of a facility that discharges treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Kyodo News reported on Monday.
Fukushima media reported that the trial operation will be carried out on Monday by mixing fresh water and seawater, and will take 10 days to two weeks to check whether the specified amount of water can flow to the sea and whether the shutoff device can shut off water in the event of an emergency.
According to a report issued by the plant’s operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on June 5, the radioactive elements in marine fish caught in the harbour of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant far exceeded safety levels for human consumption, with the content of Cs-137 reaching 180 times that of the standard maximum stipulated in Japan’s food safety law.
South Korea also announced it would maintain a ban on imports of seafood from Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture, according to reports from Nikkei Asia on April 30. The country has for the past decade banned imports of food from the area due to concerns over food safety and fears of radiation contamination following the 2011 nuclear disaster.
The South Korean government has decided to strengthen radiation detection of aquatic products and to inspect seawater loaded on ships. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to increase the number of radiation tests from more than 5,000 last year to 8,000. In addition, the South Korean government began investigating the origin labelling of Japanese fishery products in June, and will expand the number of origin labelling items for restaurants from 15 to 20 from July.
The government will also strengthen the supervision of seawater loaded on ships. According to the regulations of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, vessels departing from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident area must replace the seawater loaded and maintain a distance of 500 km or more from Korean waters.
Protesters gathered in front of the headquarters of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in Japan recently, protesting against plans to discharge nuclear wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea.
Kurata Chizuko, a 74-year-old protester, said the Japanese government should spend more time considering alternative plans for the nuclear wastewater because the current plan could risk irreversible damage to the marine ecosystem off Japan’s coast and to human health.
“TEPCO has never done a full investigation into how much the nuclear wastewater will harm the human body. I firmly oppose it. We dare not eat fish in the future. The ocean does not belong to Japan alone,” she said.
“After the Fukushima nuclear accident, I have not bought any seafood from Fukushima. Once the nuclear wastewater is discharged into the sea, the situation will become more serious. At that time, I may not dare eat any seafood at all,” said another protester.
Consumer concerns have driven the wholesale price of seafood landed in Fukushima down, and even though it is now selling at a discount of up to 20 percent compared to fish sourced elsewhere, consumers are not buying it.
“Marine life usually moves back and forth across the ocean. I think the discharge plan must be carefully considered because it will have a serious impact on our entire aquatic industry,” said Takuro Noda, manager of a seafood retail store in Tokyo.
Since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the power plant, Fukushima’s fishing industry has been working hard to restore market trust and share.
However, the discharge of nuclear wastewater into the sea will likely undo those efforts, leaving fishermen there with no other recourse then to protest against the plan.
