By: Balmis T. Diao
In 2011 , the Japanese government had released its public statement of their decision they had made start dumping more than several million tons of treated but still bears the presence of radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years.
It is recalled that the plant was seriously damaged last 2011 when a magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami that left about 20,000 people in northeast Japan dead or missing.
Chinese officials declare such moved of Japan is an act of irresponsible governance that place the people from neighboring countries to extreme hazard to their health especially to the unborn babies and blatant disregard to the marine life and corrals. More than several million tons of treated wastewater are stored in tanks at the plant.
But they are running out of more storage capacity, Japan says it has no choice other than to release the water gradually into the ocean Most of the islands closed to Japan which they believed most will be affected in their livelihood of their fishermen and their tourism thrust, filed their protest stating their objection to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the UN’s Nuclear watchdog. Meanwhile a senior official of China said that such decision of Japan’s display by disregarding the safety of human lives from 18 island nations.
South Korea, China, and Russia sent their voice objecting the release of 1.2 million tons of contaminated water. The US government has backed Japan’s plan to release radioactive water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean. US climate envoy John Kerry said the US has “positive tone” that Japan will be “translucent.” Recently, a team from the Regulators inspection will start to scrutinize a day after plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings installed the last piece of equipment needed for the release — the outlet of the undersea tunnel dug to discharge the wastewater 1 kilometer (a thousand yards) offshore.
TEPCO said the Nuclear Regulation Authority inspectors will examine the equipment related to the treated water discharge and its safety systems during three days of inspections through Friday. The permit for releasing the water could be issued about a week later, and TEPCO could start discharging the water soon after, though an exact date has not been decided.
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