Sally Mao / Staff Reporter
Japan officially decided on April 13, 2021，to filter and dilute the nuclear waste water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and then release it into the sea.
What happens if Japan dump nuclear waste water into the ocean?
Some say a real-life Godzilla will appear.
In the Japanese fantasy movie “Godzilla”, research has shown that Godzilla was born through radioactive contamination
Is this really the case?
First of all, why does Japan dump nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean?
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Tokyo
Since ten years ago, on March 11, 2011, there was a big earthquake in Japan, when the operation of the Tokyo catastrophic radiation leaks at the Fukushima nuclear power station, including four nuclear reactors are different degrees of damage, it has been over the past ten years, but until now the factory contamination has not been eliminated, Japan has a lot of solutions, but they chose the easiest, cheapest way to do it.
Is nuclear wastewater harmful?
From the article “Will radioactive wastewater From Japan your seafood?”, Japan’s decision to release nuclear waste into the sea is raising concerns about the future of seafood in the country. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) says most of the radioactive material in the waste can be removed, but not tritium.
So what is tritium?
From the article of Tritium Fact Sheet, the only reason that Tritium has no chemical toxic effects and may be harmful to human health is that it emits ionizing radiation (beta particles).
This radiation exposure may very slightly increase a person’s likelihood of developing cancer during their lifetime.
Tritium is radioactive, but it only emits soft rays that do not penetrate the human body. Only when it enters the human body can it cause tissue damage by ionizing radiation.
Modern medicine shows that as long as the human body ingest 0.05 grams of tritium, much tritium will result in death after 6 hours due to injuries caused by the ionizing radiation.
![Column]Tritium is what makes nuclear reactors so dangerous, not only in Fukushima but also in S. Korea : Editorial & Opinion : News : The Hankyoreh](http://edgesd43.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/image-9.jpeg)
A nuclear reactor
Of the 62 or so radioactive elements in the wastewater from the Fukushima plant in Japan, tritium is the most difficult element to deal with, and it is easier for Marine life to absorb, suggesting longer-term potential harm to humans and the environment.
Nuclear waste is discharged into the sea in a way that is most harmful to biological nature, affecting not just one ocean, but the whole ocean and the whole country.
In a video interview, Tepco workers said the water could be diluted to drink, but the Japanese prime minister did not drink it. Here is the link to the video: “Japanese Prime Minister refused to drink the nuclear waste, which is “drinkable after being diluted”.
Does Japan think about the harm this will do to creatures and every country?
TEPCO says it will dilute the concentration of tritium in nuclear wastewater to one-fortieth of the Japanese national standard “without causing pollution.” After the Fukushima nuclear accident, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) hid the situation of nuclear leakage for a time. It is TEPCO that is going to dump the nuclear wastewater into the sea, it is TEPCO that is going to decontaminate it, and it is TEPCO that is going to say there is no contamination.
Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has diluted its nuclear wastewater, which it says is drinkable and does not believe will affect the lives and health of people and creatures.
Since the diluted nuclear waste is drinkable, Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said, “I think it should have been discharged into the sea earlier. Anyway, we have already decided to discharge the water into the sea. There is no problem with drinking that water.“ Here is the link to the video: “Interview with Japan’s deputy prime minister on nuclear wastewater”. The Japanese government considers diluted nuclear waste to be harmless and drinkable, so why does Japan not use diluted nuclear waste for drinking, but instead dump it into the sea?
Is there any opposition to Japan’s decision? What are they saying and doing?
Fishing workers in Fukushima prefecture, across the country and elsewhere have protested the release of nuclear waste into the sea, staging street protests with slogans such as “The ocean is crying, the fish are crying, the earth is crying.”
They don’t think the decision is a wise choice.
People gathered to protest the Japanese government’s decision to release contaminated radio from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the sea
From the article “Russia joins China and South Korea in expressing ‘serious concern’ at Japan’s plan to release wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear disaster“. People could learn about that in addition to China, South Korea, Russia and the European Union, 311 environmental groups also opposed Japan’s decision.
What will nuclear contamination in the US and Canada look like in 3 years?
A research paper by the German Marine Institute titled ”Research shows that: 57 days from the date of discharge, Japan’s nuclear sewage will pollute half of the Pacific Ocean“ concluded that within 57 days of the release of radioactive material, most of the Pacific Ocean would be contaminated, and the United States and Canada would be affected three years later.
Will Japan’s decision affect the world? Is there any other way to solve the problem?
Japan’s nuclear waste contains carbon-14, which has been dangerous for thousands of years and may cause genetic damage, Greenpeace World and experts said if Japan releases nuclear wastewater into the sea, it will have a profound impact on the seafood environment, food safety and human health in other countries. Gleneagle Secondary School grade 12 student Zoe Zheng said in the interview that “Although the Japanese government stresses that contaminated water will be discharged into the sea at safe levels, I think there are still unknown potential risks.”
No full consultation with neighbouring countries and international society, the unilateral decision, in the form of the nuclear wastewater discharge sea, disposal of the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and nuclear wastewater, at least Japan can invite experts from other countries and regions, including experts from national organizations, to Japan to study and test whether nuclear waste water is really safe. Nuclear wastewater discharge should not be decided by Japan alone.
The sea is highly mobile, flowing to different regions and countries, and the consequences of this are global.
Marine environment
Every one of us should cherish the ocean and nature. We should know from childhood that if the actions of protecting nature, the Marine environment and discharging nuclear wastewater cannot be withdrawn, then other countries will be affected to a certain extent.
The beauty of nature needs every one of us to protect it. The radiation produced by nuclear wastewater will induce a genetic variation of organisms. If humans eat Marine organisms infected by nuclear radiation, they will remain potentially toxic in the human body for thousands of years to come, and will have to be a threat to human health.
SOURCES:
“Will radioactive wastewater From Japan your seafood?”
“Interview with Japan’s deputy prime minister on nuclear wastewater”
PICTURES: