Tokyo: Japan plans to release more than 1 million tonnes of radioactive water from the Fukushima Nuclear Station into the sea. The government gave this information on Tuesday. However, this decision of the Japanese government may make South Korea angry. More than a decade after the nuclear disaster, the move will give yet another setback to the fishing industry in Fukushima. Those involved in the fish industry have strongly opposed this move.
The government said that the work of releasing water will start in about two years. At the same time, the US said on Tuesday that Japan has ‘adopted an approach according to globally accepted nuclear safety standards’. “The Japanese government has been transparent about its decision,” the State Department said in a statement on its website.
Water treatment may take decades
The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc (Tepco), which operates the power station, will start pumping it into the sea after two years of water treatment, according to news agency Reuters. It was told that the treatment of water may take decades.
Tepco has been battling a surge of contaminated water since the 2011 earthquake brought three reactors under control and electricity and cooling. The company is using a temporary system of pumps and piping to inject water into damaged reactor vessels to keep molten uranium fuel cool.
Water gets contaminated as it comes into contact with fuel before it leaks into damaged basements and tunnels, where it mixes with groundwater that flows through the hills above. This leads to more contaminated water that is treated before being deposited in the huge tanks on site. The tanks now contain about 1.3 million tonnes of radioactive water, enough for about 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools
