Petition demanding that radioactive water stored at Fukushima Daiichi not be released into the ocean
Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center, No Nukes Asia Forum Japan and Friends of the Earth Japan have set up a petition to demand that contaminated water being stored at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station NOT be discharged into the sea, and instead stored on land and solidified.
You can sign the petition here
Our friends at Gensuikin (Japan Congress against A- and H-Bombs) are also collecting comments to hand to the Japanese government here
The Japanese government intends to proceed with its plan for environmental release of radioactive contaminated water that has been accumulating since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011.
At present, approximately 1.2 million tons of contaminated water is being stored. This water contains tritium (radioactive hydrogen) having 860 trillion becquerels of radiation, which cannot be removed using conventional equipment like ALPS. At present, more than 70% of the water stored in the tanks contains radioactive substances such as strontium 90, cesium 137, and iodine 129, totally exceeding emission concentration standards. These radioactive substances cannot be completely removed by secondary treatment. The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) have stated that an additional 1,200 trillion becquerels worth of tritium are still contained in the plant buildings, which means that more contaminated water is likely to be released in the future.
Instead of discharging contaminated water into the ocean, another option the government is considering is to vaporize it, but ocean discharge is currently seen as the preferred option.
Increasing the amount of radioactive contamination in the environment threatens future life.
Fukushima fishing unions are strongly opposed to ocean discharge. For them this threat to the fishing industry is a matter of life and death. In Ibaraki Prefecture, immediately south of Fukushima, there is also strong opposition to ocean release. However, the government is still insisting that environmental discharge is the only option. Fukushima Prefecture authorities have held token public hearings and called for public comments, but their plan is to announce, by the summer of 2020, that the contaminated water will be discharged into the environment.
Several civil society groups in Japan are voicing their opposition, demanding that the ocean discharge plan be withdrawn, and instead that the contaminated water be stored on land and solidified.
For further information, please see:
Current State of Post-Accident Operations at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
FAQ: ‘Treated Water’ Containing Radioactive materials
www.foejapan.org/en/energy/doc/200414.html
Government committee should consider land-based storage of contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant
www.foejapan.org/en/energy/doc/200121.html
