Japan’s move to release radioactive water is set to anger fishermen and environmentalists
Amid strong opposition from environmentalists and the fishing community, Japan is set to release more than one million tonnes of contaminated water from the tsunami-devastated Fukushima power plant into the sea.
According to local media reports, the work to release the radioactive water from Fukushima’s Daiichi nuclear power plant would begin in 2022 at the earliest and would take decades to complete.
Japanese Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama told a news conference: “Decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi plant is a major premise for a restoration in Fukushima from the nuclear disaster. To prevent any delays in the decommissioning process, we need to make a decision quickly.”
The Fukushima nuclear plant was hit by an enormous earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, a disaster which killed around 20,000 people, though precise tallies vary. The decision to release the water into the sea puts an end to years of debate over its disposal.
As of last month, there were 1.23 million tonnes of waste water at the facility, according to reports.
The Japanese government has maintained over time that they were looking at different means for getting rid of the water, and releasing into the sea or evaporating it were both "realistic options".
However, the release of the radioactive water is attracting strong opposition from environmentalists over the possible threat to marine life.
