Chinanews, June 28,
report
title:
International Year's Observation: Decoding Japan's Nuclear Sewage Disorder, the truth behind it is even more cruel
Author: Zhang Aolin Kong Qingling Meng Xiangjun
In the first half of 2021, Japan did a major event that “nuclear” people have heard of. It decided to discharge millions of tons of nuclear-contaminated water stored at the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific without thorough treatment.
The detonation of this move to international public opinion is no less than the impact of nuclear explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that year.
Data map: On April 13, the Japanese government officially decided that the nuclear sewage from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant will be discharged into the sea after being filtered and diluted.
The picture shows Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (first from left) attending a cabinet meeting.
However, behind all this, the truth is more naked and cruel.
When people tried to look towards the future where nuclear sewage and seawater were "integrated", they immediately understood that Japan's so-called mildness, harmlessness, technical difficulties, and huge costs are just a foolish "shield".
Someone pointed out that this is actually related to a country's "ethics". In terms of the international community's public morals, Japan's credit rating has reached zero.
There are at least five options, and finally the one that hurts others and benefits oneself is chosen
For a country that has shown itself as a "nuclear bomb victim" and talked about "nuclear" discoloration, Japan is well aware of the hazards of radioactive materials.
In fact, in the ten years after the “311” earthquake, the Fukushima nuclear pollution problem, like many other problems, has never really been solved.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company was temporarily storing a large amount of nuclear sewage generated by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which was destroyed by the meltdown of the core of the earthquake, in a water storage tank.
As the Japanese government has no plans to build more water storage tanks, its reserves will reach the limit around November 2022.
Data map: The nuclear sewage storage tank of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
It has been stored for ten years, why can't we pile more jars?
British nuclear expert Bernie pointed out that the Japanese government can clearly continue to store nuclear sewage in nuclear power plants and surrounding spaces.
Because according to the Greenpeace survey, Japan admitted in 2020 that there is enough space around the nuclear power plant to continue to store nuclear sewage.
In fact, nuclear sewage could have been better treated, and Japan is far from having no choice.
The Japanese government has formulated five plans: pumping into the deep underground, discharge to the ocean, evaporation and release, electrolysis to release hydrogen, and solidification and burying it underground.
Among them, it is obviously a better choice to bury nuclear sewage in the ground after solidification, but the cost is dozens or even hundreds of times that of the sea. One word: money!
It's not something you can't do, but you don't want to do it.
In the end, Japan chose the best operation and lowest cost method, and immediately passed the harm of nuclear pollution to the world.
The technology is not enough, just open your eyes and talk nonsense
What is more worrying is that Japan's nuclear sewage treatment technology is very unconvincing.
Data map: Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
According to data from TEPCO, Fukushima nuclear sewage contains 63 radioactive substances.
TEPCO believes that after treatment, except for "tritium", most of the radioactive elements in nuclear sewage can be removed.
However, as of August 2020, 73% of nuclear sewage treated by the "Multi-Nuclide Removal Device (ALPS)" equipment still contains radioactive elements exceeding the standard.
In the face of doubts, TEPCO issued a "seeking order" at the end of May 2021-publicly soliciting "tritium" separation technology.
Ironically, almost two months have passed since the announcement of sewage discharge into the sea.
In other words, after Japan announced its decision, it never planned to completely eliminate "tritium."
In addition, TEPCO plans not to measure the activity of radioactive materials in nuclear sewage before it is discharged, and only intends to use calculations to determine whether the water "meets the standard."
TEPCO stated that the measurement takes half a day to a day, so "even if it is found to exceed the standard, it has been discharged into the sea at that time."
Data map: March 2013, the area surrounding the Fukushima nuclear accident.
Photo by Sun Ran from China News Agency
For a whole decade, TEPCO not only failed to improve its reflection and response to disasters, but also concealed and shied away from it, and only reluctantly admitted it until it was exposed.
In 2021, TEPCO did not disclose the discovery of the gel block of radioactive materials until April. It only admitted that the container containing radioactive waste had been corroded and leaked in May. Even if sewage discharge did not start, some radioactive materials had already entered the sea .
Moreover, if nuclear sewage is as harmless as it says, Japan can keep it in the country for its own use, so why decide to put it in a row?
"Drag" the word tactics, "Lies" natal drama
The emission timeline announced by Japan is intriguing.
Although the announcement time is April 2021, it will take two years to "prepare", and the official emissions will not start until 2023.
"The so-called preparation is actually to delay time, in order to allow the international community to play down the criticism of Japan in the process, and tacitly agree that such a decision has become a fait accompli." Professor Zhou Yongsheng of the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University accepted Chinanews.com During the interview, he pointed out sharply.
Japan has even repeatedly played word games, telling the world with lies, claiming that what it plans to discharge into the ocean is not nuclear sewage, but "ALPS treated water", claiming that this disposal method conforms to international practice.
The reason is that countries all over the world "discharge radioactive waste from nuclear power plants into the ocean."
Experts revealed that the Fukushima nuclear sewage had contacted the nuclear fuel melted down by the core. It contained a variety of radionuclides and had an extremely complex composition. It was completely different in nature from the cooling water produced by the normal operation of a nuclear power plant without a nuclear accident.
On April 13, Japanese people protested against the Japanese authorities’ decision to discharge nuclear sewage into the sea outside the prime minister’s residence in Tokyo.
In response to this, criticism from Japan and abroad has never weakened.
At the end of May, three agricultural associations in Fukushima prefecture passed a special resolution criticizing the Japanese government and TEPCO for abandoning the previous agreement with the Fukushima prefectural fishery group to "not conduct any treatment of nuclear sewage without the understanding of relevant personnel." Agreement and accused him of being "extremely dishonest."
A slogan "Boycott Japanese goods" was hung up in the seafood section of a supermarket in Seoul, South Korea. In the past two months, South Korean fishermen have assembled hundreds of fishing boats to protest and demand the Japanese government to withdraw the resolution. South Korean President Moon Jae-in also gave instructions to various departments. Actively study the issue of discharging Japanese pollutants into the sea and submit it to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
On June 23, at the 31st Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the representative of Japan still insisted that the treated nuclear sewage was discharged into the sea without any harm, that the Japanese side had achieved openness and transparency, and “the relevant practices have been recognized by the International Atomic Energy Agency. ".
However, the International Atomic Energy Agency has not yet approved the Japanese approach.
On the contrary, the agency is preparing to establish a technical working group, confirming to invite experts from China and South Korea to participate.
Japan's nuclear sewage is discharged into the sea, and transparency needs to be enhanced.
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Grossi, pointed out that the agency intends to intervene in real time through monitoring, etc.
As Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointed out, Japan "don't learn from the ostrich, thinking that by burying your head in the sand, everything will be fine."
(Finish)