Activists stage a campaign near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul calling for the boycott of Japanese seafood in protest against Tokyo’s plan to discharge into the sea radioactive water from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, in this photo taken Nov. 9, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — A top South Korean official stressed that a nuclear safety review process has not yet finished for Japan’s planned release of contaminated water from its hobbled Fukushima Daiichi plant into the sea.
“The government’s top priority is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the people,” Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) Chairperson Yoo Guk-hee said during a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency.
“We are reviewing whether Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO)’s plan, approved by the Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), is legitimate.”
TEPCO is the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant ravaged by a devastating tsunami in 2011.
In May, Japan’s nuclear regulator gave the green light to the planned discharge of a million tons of tritium-laced water from the wrecked nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.
Yoo said his agency had made an inquiry at Japan’s NRA about the plan four times and received answers only to some of them.
“It should be verified in an objective and scientific manner whether the discharge facility and plan are appropriate according to its original design, and if a release takes place according to safety standards,” he said.
He also said the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety is analyzing water samples from the plant at the request of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and will send the results to the IAEA when completed.
The NSSC will run an independent monitoring system by taking samples from around 40 bodies of water around South Korea starting next month, he added.
(Yonhap)
