Millions of tons of nuclear sewage discharged into the Pacific Ocean?

How to deal with the Fukushima nuclear accident

　　How to deal with the nuclear sewage generated by the leakage of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan has always been a major problem.

According to Japan’s "Mainichi Shimbun", the new Japanese government has determined that the nuclear-contaminated water stored at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant will be put into the ocean after reducing the concentration of radioactive materials. It will be at a meeting of relevant cabinet members within this month. Confirm the decision.

The Japanese government intends to discharge Fukushima nuclear sewage into the Pacific Ocean. This idea not only arouses concerns among neighboring countries, but also causes global concerns.

Greenpeace International warned on October 23 that the polluted water discharged into the sea from the Fukushima nuclear reactor contained radioactive materials that could damage human DNA.

(World Wide Web October 25)

　　Nuclear pollution has serious consequences, and it has a wide range and a long time.

Neighboring countries have also expressed serious concerns and hope that the Japanese government will make cautious decisions on the basis of full consultation with neighboring countries.

As early as June, the United Nations special rapporteur concerned about the disposal of hazardous materials and other issues urged the Japanese government not to ignore its obligations on nuclear waste disposal, and not to use the opportunity of the epidemic to force it without international consultations. Nuclear waste water enters the sea.

Not only that, the fishermen and people near Fukushima in Japan also strongly opposed the Japanese government's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean.

　　The opposition of Japan, neighboring countries, and the United Nations is of course justified and scientifically based, and no one can guarantee that water containing radioactive nuclear materials will affect human health, life, and evolution.

But at least it can be judged that nuclear contaminated water may cause genetic mutations, which have a negative impact on marine life and the marine environment, and the impact can last for thousands of years.

　　Since the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan on March 11, 2011, nuclear pollution has inevitably affected the local land and ocean. Researchers have observed some abnormalities that may be caused by genetic mutations in some animals and plants, such as the recently discovered hinge. There is only one dorsal fin in sharks. Normal reaming sharks originally have two dorsal fins.

Moreover, nuclear contaminated water does not only affect neighboring countries and sea areas, but can affect more distant countries through ocean currents.

　　Due to global warnings and opposition, Japan had to postpone the decision whether to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the ocean.

Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshi Kajiyama said at a press conference on October 23 that the government has no plans to make a decision on how to dispose of more than 1.2 million tons of nuclear sewage.

"We are not yet able to announce the specific time of'how to treat nuclear sewage'."

　　Delaying the decision does not mean that the pollution incident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant has been resolved, but only postponed the crisis.

But this nuclear pollution crisis will be resolved sooner or later, and must be resolved.

Obviously, from the point of view of nuclear pollution and other catastrophic accidents in human history, it is no longer applicable to "unlock the bell and still need to tie the bell", but requires the joint efforts of many countries around the world.

Otherwise, if Fukushima nuclear sewage is discharged into the ocean, everyone may be harmed by it. Japan alone will be powerless and unable to take responsibility for the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear pollution.

　　The aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear pollution incident may need to learn from the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident under the auspices of the United Nations.

On April 26, 1986, the No. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded.

The explosion dust dispersed with the wind, causing Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and many other places to suffer from nuclear radiation pollution.

　　In order to prevent the No. 4 reactor after the Chernobyl nuclear explosion and the "sarcophagus" that covered its nuclear proliferation from continuing to endanger local and European countries, with the strong assistance of the European Reconstruction and Development Bank and international donors, it was called the "new security". The vault-shaped building of the "enclosure body" broke ground in 2010.

The "new safety enclosure" is 152 meters long, 106 meters high, and has a total weight of more than 30,000 tons. It can store hazardous substances for a hundred years.

　　The "new safety containment body" provides an example and reference for the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear pollution. The United Nations and other countries can cooperate with Japan in the field of nuclear safety to propose feasible plans, or build a "new safety containment body" at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. "To seal up abandoned nuclear power plants forever, or to transfer nuclear contaminated water to a certain place in Japan, and build a "new safety containment body" to seal up the contaminated water.

　　Of course, this is just an expedient solution to the problem.

The long-term solution is to develop safe, cost-controllable, and environmentally friendly energy sources to fundamentally avoid similar hidden dangers.

　　Zhang Tiankan Source: China Youth Daily