China News Service, Beijing, April 13th. Comprehensive news: The Japanese government officially decided on the 13th to filter and dilute one million tons of nuclear sewage from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea. Discharge will begin in about two years.
This move by the Japanese side has caused serious concern and strong condemnation from governments, experts and people of many countries.
Multinational governments and international organizations: serious concerns and deep regrets
The South Korean government expressed deep regret on Japan’s decision to discharge Fukushima nuclear sewage into the sea on the 13th, and urged Japan to transparently disclose Fukushima nuclear sewage treatment information and verify treatment measures.
At the same time, the South Korean side will convey to the international community such as the International Atomic Energy Agency that the South Korean side is deeply worried about this matter, and request the international community to scientifically verify the treatment of nuclear sewage by the Japanese side.
On the same day, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Japanese ambassador to South Korea and lodged a solemn protest against Japan's decision to discharge nuclear sewage from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea.
On April 12th, local time, outside the prime minister's office in Tokyo, local people held a rally to protest the Japanese government's plan to discharge purified water from the disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.
The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the 13th, saying that as a close neighbor and stakeholder of Japan, China expresses serious concerns about this.
Japan has not exhausted safe disposal methods, regardless of domestic and foreign questions and opposition, and without full consultation with neighboring countries and the international community, unilaterally decided to dispose of nuclear waste water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident by way of drainage. Being responsible will seriously damage international public health and safety and the vital interests of people in neighboring countries.
The spokesperson pointed out that the ocean is the common property of mankind.
The disposal of nuclear waste water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident is not just a domestic issue.
"We strongly urge the Japanese side to recognize its own responsibilities, uphold a scientific attitude, fulfill its international obligations, and respond to the serious concerns of the international community, neighboring countries, and its citizens. Re-examining the issue of nuclear waste water disposal at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant is in common with all interests. Before the country and the International Atomic Energy Agency have fully negotiated and reached an agreement, they must not initiate a sea discharge without authorization."
When meeting with Wang Qun, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations in Vienna, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Grossi, on the 12th, he expressed that the Japanese government decided to discharge hazardous waste water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant to the sea. It has received global attention and is willing to actively promote the evaluation and supervision of the agency in a fair, objective and scientific manner.
In this process, the agency is willing to strengthen communication with various stakeholders.
At present, efforts should be made to avoid further harm to the marine environment, food safety and human health.
International experts: strongly condemns violations of the Law of the Sea Convention
Many international environmental protection experts strongly condemned the decision of the Japanese government.
Jennifer Morgan, Director-General of Greenpeace International, issued a statement saying that the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power believe that it can rationalize the discharge of nuclear waste water to the Pacific, which is a very terrible thing.
The decision of the Japanese government violates the legal obligations stipulated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
According to the British "Guardian" report on the 13th, the Greenpeace Japan office "strongly condemned" nuclear sewage into the sea, saying that the practice "completely ignores the human rights and interests of people in Fukushima, Japan as a whole, and the Asia-Pacific region."
Kazuki Suzuki, director of the Climate and Energy Program at Greenpeace Japan Office, said: “The Japanese government has made a completely unreasonable decision to pollute the Pacific with radioactive waste water and underestimated the radiation risk. The nuclear power plant and surrounding areas clearly have sufficient storage capacity, but the Japanese government has Turn a blind eye to this."
The report also said that Japanese officials rejected the media's description of nuclear waste water as "contaminated" or "radioactive," and insisted on calling it "treated."
Shaun Burnie, a senior nuclear expert at Greenpeace Germany, said that this statement was “obviously wrong”.
"If it is not contaminated or radioactive, nuclear sewage will not need to be approved by the Japanese nuclear regulatory agency (to be discharged)." He said, "The water in the tank is indeed treated, but it is also radioactively contaminated. The Japanese government has been in the country. The outside world is covering the ears."
Data map: The nuclear sewage storage tank of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan on February 11.
Public opinion: "nuclear terrorism" destroys the ecosystem
The Japanese government's disposal of Fukushima nuclear sewage by ocean discharge has also attracted the attention and opposition of the public, including Japan.
According to a report by Kyodo News on the 12th, a number of civic groups submitted to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry a total of 64,000 "opposing to the discharge of nuclear sewage into the ocean" signatures on the same day. These signatures came from 88 countries and regions including Japan.
After the Japanese government officially decided to discharge Fukushima nuclear sewage into the sea on the 13th, Hiroshi Kishi, chairman of the Japan Federation of Fisheries Associations, expressed "very regrettable and intolerable" and strongly protested.
Local fishery workers in Fukushima also told Japanese media, “I have been distressed by the negative reviews brought about by the nuclear accident, and all these ten years of hard work have been in vain.”
The "Denuclearized Citizen Action" composed of 31 South Korean citizen groups issued a statement on the 13th, condemning the Japanese government's unauthorized decision to discharge nuclear power plant wastewater into the sea, and defined the Japanese government's decision as "nuclear terrorism", saying that it will seek to prevent it by all means. Sewage enters the sea.
The organization stated that the Japanese government said it would dilute the sewage with seawater before discharging it. Nevertheless, the total amount of radioactive materials entering the sea remains unchanged.
This will bring irreparable disasters to marine ecosystems and even humans.
Dmitry Lisitsyn, the head of the Russian social organization "Sakhalin Environmental Observation", told the Russian Satellite News Agency that Japan’s discharge of nuclear sewage from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant may cause radioactive pollution to enter the central North Pacific, where life will be affected. Pacific salmon served to the Russian table.
Lisiczen said that the fish in that sea area has been polluted to a certain extent by the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, and the pollution will become more serious with the discharge of nuclear sewage.
The Chinese Environmental Non-Government Organization (NGO) Black-headed Gull Protection Association issued a statement on the 13th to express a strong protest against Japan's move, and hopes that the Japanese government will treat it with caution and think twice.
The statement stated that the ocean is the common property of mankind, and Japan is one of the places where the rare and endangered species of black-headed gull is distributed. The Japanese government's discharge of nuclear waste water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, which is harmful to the marine environment, is not only an irresponsible act. , Is also a great damage to the marine ecology and biodiversity community.
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