Second Phase Of Fukushima Wastewater Discharge Begins In Japan

On Thursday, October 5, Japan resumed releasing into the Pacific Ocean another 7,800 tons of treated water, previously used to cool the reactors of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which was destroyed by a strong earthquake on March 11, 2011 and subsequent tsunami.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which operates the former nuclear power plant, announced that over the next 17 days, treated water, still containing significant amounts of tritium, will be discharged through a kilometer-long undersea tunnel at a rate of 460 tons per day.

The entire operation, sharply criticized by China and neighboring countries, could last at least 30 years, during which more than 1.34 million tons of water and other purified liquids currently contained in more than a thousand reservoirs located around the damaged plant and filled to approximately 98% of maximum capacity, will be released into the Pacific Ocean.

The first phase of the project, launched by the Tokyo government on August 24 with approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), plans to release a total of about 31,200 tons of water by the end of March 2024. Japanese authorities said the tritium concentration level in purified water diluted in the ratio of 1:1,200 with seawater was “only” 63 to 87 becquerels per liter, well below 1,500 becquerels, or “one-fortieth the permitted concentration,” according to Japanese regulations and international safety standards.

IAEA experts also confirmed that during the first round of discharge that took place from August 24 to September 11, “no abnormal concentrations of tritium or other radioactive substances were detected in the surrounding waters or in fish samples collected near the nuclear power plant.”

However, China continues to condemn Tokyo’s decision and has imposed a complete ban on the import of Japanese fish products from the waters around Fukushima. Japanese fishermen’s associations are in crisis, and Fumio Kishida’s government has been forced to increase subsidies to local industry. After the discharge operation began, imports of Japanese fish into China fell by 70% in a month.

Japanese seafood suppliers are working 360 degrees to bring their products to alternative markets, primarily South Korea, but so far without success: replacing a client like Beijing is very difficult, almost impossible. The amount of unsold fish is increasing every day, freezers are full, and prices are skyrocketing.

According to Chinese media, Beijing’s phytosanitary authorities’ decision to suspend imports of Japanese seafood products even sparked “a diplomatic conflict between the two countries and a rise in anti-Japanese sentiments in China” to the point that “many companies and Japanese diplomatic missions reported a huge number of abusive calls.” On October 4, Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova condemned the operation, accusing Japan of “failing to guarantee the absence of a long-term threat and not providing full information about the discharging operations, despite repeated requests from both Moscow and Beijing.”