China has raised objections and urged Japan to halt the plan, stating that if Tokyo carries it out, Beijing too will strengthen the inspection of imported seafood to “ensure public health and food safety”…reports Asian Lite News
Slamming China for its criticism of Japan’s plan to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Tokyo on Thursday accused Beijing and South Korea of discharging liquid waste containing high levels of tritium, a radioactive material, Kyodo News reported.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno also said Japan will explain to China the planned water discharge into the sea from the nuclear complex, crippled by a devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami in March 201, “based on scientific perspectives”. Japan’s standard for the release of tritium, at below 22 trillion becquerels per year, is far stricter than that of other nations including its neighbours China and South Korea, Kyodo News quoted Matsuno, the top government spokesman as saying.
In 2021, the Yangjiang nuclear plant in China discharged around 112 trillion becquerels of tritium, while the Kori power station in South Korea released about 49 trillion becquerels of the radioactive material, Kyodo News reported citing Japan’s industry ministry.
The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday, submitted its review of the envisioned water discharge to Japan, concluding that the country’s plan aligns with global safety standards and would have “a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment”.
The Japanese government as well as the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., operator of the Fukushima plant, are planning to start releasing the water into the Pacific Ocean around the summer after it undergoes processing to remove most of the radionuclides except tritium.
However, China has raised objections and urged Japan to halt the plan, stating that if Tokyo carries it out, Beijing too will strengthen the inspection of imported seafood to “ensure public health and food safety”, Kyodo News reported.
IAEA chief in Seoul
Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi arrived in South Korea on Saturday to explain the analysis of the UN watchdog’s safety review of Japan’s planned release of treated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
Grossi was met by a group of angry protesters at Seoul’s Gimpo airport, Yonhap News Agency reported on Saturday.
Dozens of protesters gathered in front of the airport’s VIP exit, with some of them loudly chanting slogans like “Grossi, go home”, “Oppose marine dumping” and “Leave Korea, Grossi”.
They occasionally clashed physically with the policemen who were positioned in front of the cordoned-off area.
After about two hours since his arrival, he successfully left the airport on Saturday, using another passage that went unnoticed by both the protesters and reporters.
Grossi flew in from Japan following the agency’s conclusion that Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the plant into the sea is consistent with international safety standards.
While in Japan, Grossi delivered the IAEA’s report on Tokyo’s water release plan to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. (ANI/IANS)
