South Korean environmental activists hold a rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Oct. 8, 2018, to protest against Japan’s decision to release the Fukushima nuclear plant’s radioactive, contaminated water into the sea. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Japan has reportedly decided to release 1.2 million tons of contaminated water currently stored at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant into the sea, despite protests from South Korea.
Greenpeace, an environmental non-governmental organization, reported that the final report submitted on Monday by the expert sub-committee on contaminated water at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry asked to release the contaminated water to the sea, since it is more affordable than releasing it to the atmosphere.
The report did not include any deadlines for the Japanese government to make the final decision.
Greenpeace said that the recommendation is very likely to be accepted by the Japanese government since past practices have shown that the government has abided by the proposals sent from the ministry and the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
The expert sub-committee and the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the company in charge of the power plant, have been holding a series of seminars to claim that releasing the water to the sea is the most viable solution.
“There is another option of storing the water for a longer period. Instead, the Japanese government seeks to release the contaminated water, which goes against the precautionary principle agreed upon by the international community,” said source from Greenpeace Japan.
The Japanese government argues that the storage site for contaminated water at Fukushima will reach its capacity by 2022.
TEPCO will carry out the measure once the local residents agree and the government makes a final approval.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
