FUKUSHIMA'S WASTE AND THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET

 

Japan is going to release Fukushima treated radioactive water into sea

Hello everyone!

I will talk about a fact that is the cause of discussions today. The water used to cool the reactors after the dramatic accident at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant will be thrown into the sea.

 Thousands of tanks full of radioactive liquid , for a total of 1.25 million tons, will therefore end up in the ocean . This was decided by the Japanese government, on the morning of Tuesday 13 March.

Ten years after the nuclear accident, the damaged reactors still need to be constantly cooled in order to avoid new radioactive leaks. To do this, you need water. A lot of water: 150-200 cubic meters per day. The Fukushima plant was thus transformed into a cemetery of cisterns, containing enough water to fill about 500 Olympic swimming pools .

 

Who is against it?

●     Many non-governmental organizations are strongly opposed, for example: Kazue Suzukihead of Greenpeace Japan's climate and energy campaign. According to Suzuki, therefore, the best solution is to choose to "continue to store contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi site", while at the same time "developing technology to remove radiation”

●     China and South Korea have raised serious concern about the discharge of the water and its potential impact.

●      fishermen and farmers

 

Who agrees?

●     Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the ocean release was the “most realistic” option and that disposing the water is “unavoidable” for the decommissioning of the Fukushima plant, which is expected to take decades.

●     Government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all other selected radionuclides can be reduced to levels allowed for release

●     Some scientists say the long-term impact on marine life from low-dose exposure to such large volumes of water is unknown.

 

I personally don't agree with this decision at all, I can’t see any good out of it. I’m seriously concerned because it will have truly terrible consequences on the environment. What about you?

Camilla, 3scB