As the Japanese government is announced on the 27th of this month to finalize a policy to discharge radioactive contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean, attention is focused on how radioactive materials will affect the human body.
In particular, Japan claims that it has purged radioactive contaminated water using an equipment called ALPS, but it is known that it has not been able to remove'tritium' (tritium), and attention is also drawn to the danger of tritium.
According to the academic world, tritium is a chemical substance consisting of one quantum, one electron, and two neutrons.
Hydrogen is made up of one proton and one electron, and deuterium is made up of one proton, one electron, and one neutron.
While hydrogen and deuterium are not radioactive substances, tritium is an isotope of hydrogen and is a radioactive substance.
Isotopes refer to the same number of protons, but different numbers of neutrons.
In other words, tritium has the same number of protons as hydrogen and deuterium, but has a different number of neutrons and is a radioactive atom.
Since tritium is much smaller than water molecules, it cannot be physically filtered out of water.
It has the same chemical properties as water, making it difficult to separate chemically.
In particular, hydrogen forms a'hydrogen bond' that changes its shape while being bonded to an oxygen atom, but tritium is also difficult to filter by changing its shape by bonding with several water molecules.
Moreover, Japan was unable to treat it with ALPS as it did not have effective tritium removal technology.
If radioactive contaminated water is released into the ocean as it is, tritium in the contaminated water will also float in the ocean.
The concentration of tritium contaminated water in the Fukushima nuclear power plant averages 580,000 becquerels per liter, far exceeding the Japanese emission standard of 60,000 ㏃ per liter.
Tritium is a radioactive material that already exists in its natural state, but care should be taken against internal exposure.
Tritium emits beta rays, which is weak at about 6 mm.
In other words, it cannot penetrate the skin or cause external exposure.
In addition, even if you consume water or food containing tritium, it is excreted through feces or sweat within 7 to 14 days.
More than 200g of tritium is produced in the atmosphere every year by high-energy spacecraft coming from space, and the amount of tritium dissolved in the atmosphere and sea water is about 3.5kg.
On the other hand, the total amount of tritium in contaminated water in Fukushima is about 3g.
As of September this year, 1.23 million tons of radioactive contaminated water is stored at the site of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Japan, but the total amount of tritium is 3 g, and it is estimated that the concentration of the contaminated water has also decreased as 160 to 170 tons of contaminated water per day were introduced.
However, there are still risks of internal exposure.
This is because Japan discharges contaminated water into the sea and contaminates the marine products in the sea area, and if you consume this seafood for a long time, radioactive substances can accumulate in your body.
When tritium pushes out normal hydrogen in the human body and takes its place, a'nuclide conversion' occurs in which tritium is converted into helium while emitting beta rays.
When a nuclide conversion occurs in DNA, it can cause damage to the body, such as genetic modification, cell death, and decreased reproductive function.
There is also research showing that Fukushima contaminated water can enter Jeju Island and the West Sea within a month after discharge.
According to the results of the analysis of video data from the Helmholtz Marine Research Center in Germany by the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), if the amount of nuclides such as cesium 137 in the ocean discharged from Fukushima contaminated water is as small as 1 ㏃ of 10 million trillion per 1 ㎥, within a month. You can reach Jeju Island and the West Sea.
The Korean government is planning to respond to Japan's actions by organizing a Task Force (TF) of the Ministry of Contaminated Water Discharge of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant under the supervision of the State Affairs Office.
However, it is known that Japan does not share data on contaminated water discharge plans and periods, repeating the position that'nothing has been officially decided.'
Deok-Hwan Lee, a professor of chemistry at Sogang University, said, "Our government should express concern and concern to the Japanese government about the discharge of contaminated water, and ask Japan to disclose data." You should ask to be honest with you.
An official from the Nuclear Safety Committee said, "There is no international consensus on discharging contaminated water from the accidental nuclear power plant," he said. "International community understanding and consensus must precede."