Discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima into the Pacific is scheduled to begin in August. The upcoming deadline worries the international community, which fears the consequences for biodiversity and health.
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March 11, 2011. A tsunami devastates northeastern Japan. Gigantic waves – sometimes more than 30 meters – crash on the coast. At Fukushima, the wave is “only” 15 meters long, but it is enough to cripple the nuclear power plant’s cooling systems, resulting in the meltdown of three of the four reactors. To cool them, 140 tons of water are needed per day. Contaminated by radioactive elements, they must then be stored. Today, tanks house the equivalent of 536 Olympic-size swimming pools, representing 97% of the site’s storage capacity. In 2021, the ax falls: it will be progressive rejection in the Pacific, spread over a 40-year period. Of course, there can be no question of the release of contaminated water.
Filtered and theoretically safe water
Japan is developing an absorption filtration system to rid water of 62 of the 64 nuclides still present, with the exception of carbon-14 and tritium. This is of concern as it can pose a health risk when combined with organic molecules. Japan is eagerly asking the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Its report, presented on July 4, states that the project “complies with international safety standards.” Understand: the radioactivity of the water should not exceed 60,000 becquerels per liter, and the radioactivity of the Fukushima water should not exceed 1,500 becquerels. That’s little, but still too much to reassure China and neighboring island nations. According to a survey, 80 percent of South Koreans fear the consequences of refusing the operation. So much so that residents panicked and decided to stock up on salt, causing a shortage.