Haeundae Beach in Busan, 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The government will conduct emergency radiation tests on the waters at 20 major beaches ahead of the summer vacation season to alleviate concerns over Japan’s plan to release contaminated waters from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, officials said Tuesday.
The government also plans to examine radioactivity levels in the high sea waters near Fukushima every month, and already took water samples from those areas in April in order to compare radioactivity levels from before and after the release, Vice Oceans Minister Song Sang-keun said.
“We will ensure that our citizens can enjoy their summer vacation with ease,” Song said during a daily government briefing on Japan’s planned release.
The inspection will cover a total of 20 beaches in the country, he said, including Hamdeok Beach on Jeju Island and Gyeongpo Beach in the east coast city of Gangneung and will continue on a weekly basis after the waters are released.
At the briefing, Song elaborated how the government plans to test the radioactivity levels in the ocean, following up on an agreement reached last week with the ruling People Power Party to expand the number of testing points from the current 92 places to 200.
The government will select 108 points in the ocean waters around the south of the Korean Peninsula and Jeju, and use a “rapid analysis method” to measure the radioactivity levels.
The method would speed up the time needed to receive the results, which normally takes at least a month, Song said.
The high sea waters near Fukushima will also be subject to the government’s monthly inspection and the results will be announced every month, separately by the oceans ministry and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.
South Korea will also maintain its import ban on seafood from Fukushima until its safety is scientifically proven and people accept the results, said Park Ku-yeon, vice minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination.
Park also criticized the opposition Democratic Party for “insulting” the administration’s efforts to dispel the health concerns of people.
“Distorted claims, including accusations our government is representing the Japanese government, are insulting remarks towards dedicated civil servants who are doing their best for the sake of our citizens,” he said.
Later in the day, Oceans Minister Cho Seung-hwan reassured lawmakers that South Korean seawaters would remain safe even in the event of contaminated water being released from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
“Although it is presumed that radioactive substances were released after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, there have been no test results indicating any contamination in our waters. Based on the past situation, we affirm that our waters will remain safe in the future,” he said during a parliamentary committee session.
He noted that fish caught in Fukushima waters are banned from importation, while seawater that enters South Korean seas is sufficiently diluted, posing no threat to the safety of the coastal areas.
The minister also expressed his confidence in the credibility of the verification process overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Eleven countries’ research teams and six research institutes are participating in cross-verification of samples, and I believe it is the most authoritative verification institution,” he said.
(Yonhap)
