How Japan plans to release contaminated Fukushima water into the ocean
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2022
SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
How Japan plans to release contaminated Fukushima water into the ocean

Analysis

Reuters
13 April, 2021, 02:50 pm
Last modified: 13 April, 2021, 02:57 pm

Related News

  • Japan lifts restriction on foreign tourists after two years
  • Japan to allow lethal defence equipment exports to India, 11 countries
  • In home of world's biggest nuclear plant, a vote may shape Japan's atomic future
  • Japan to 'drastically strengthen' military capability
  • Modi, Biden stress on ‘strategic partnership based on trust’ at Japan meet

How Japan plans to release contaminated Fukushima water into the ocean

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc (Tepco) will begun pumping out water in about two years after treatment in a process that will take decades to complete

Reuters
13 April, 2021, 02:50 pm
Last modified: 13 April, 2021, 02:57 pm
An aerial view shows the storage tanks for treated water at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan February 13, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Kyodo/via REUTERS
An aerial view shows the storage tanks for treated water at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan February 13, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Kyodo/via REUTERS

Japan plans to release into the sea more than a million tonnes of radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station, it said on Tuesday. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc (Tepco) will begun pumping out water in about two years after treatment in a process that will take decades to complete.

Contaminated Water

Tepco has been struggling with the build-up of contaminated water since bringing three reactors under control after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami knocked out electricity and cooling.

The company has been using a makeshift system of pumps and piping to inject water into damaged reactor vessels to keep melted uranium fuel rods cool.

The water is contaminated as it comes in contact with the fuel before leaking into damaged basements and tunnels, where it mixes with groundwater that flows through the site from hills above. The combination results in excess contaminated water that is pumped out and treated before being stored in huge tanks crowding the site.

Those tanks now hold about 1.3 million tonnes of radioactive water, enough for about 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Efforts to tackle the problem have included building an "ice wall" around the damaged reactors and wells to draw groundwater away before it reaches the reactors. These measures have slowed, but not halted, the buildup of contaminated water.

Over the years, Tepco has also battled leaks, spills, malfunctioning equipment and safety breaches, hindering cleanup efforts expected to run for decades.

In 2018, Tepco admitted it had not filtered all dangerous materials out of the water, despite saying for years they had been removed.

Graphic: Fukushima's "ice wall":

Water Release

Tepco plans to filter the contaminated water again to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen hard to separate from water. Tepco will then dilute the water until tritium levels fall below regulatory limits, before pumping it directly into the ocean from the coastal site.

Water containing tritium is routinely released from nuclear plants around the world and releasing the Fukushima water to the ocean is supported by regulatory authorities.

Tritium is considered to be relatively harmless because it does not emit enough energy to penetrate human skin. But when ingested it can raise cancer risks, a Scientific American article said in 2014.

The first water release is not expected for about two years, time Tepco will use to begin filtering the water, building infrastructure and acquiring regulatory approval.

Until then, the buildup of contaminated water will continue, with annual costs of water storage estimated at about 100 billion yen ($912.66 million).

Once begun, the water disposal will take decades to complete, with a rolling filtering and dilution process, alongside the planned decommissioning of the plant.

Reaction To Ocean Release

Tepco is engaging with fishing communities and other stakeholders and is promoting agriculture, fishery and forest products in stores and restaurants to reduce any reputational harm to produce from the area.

However, environmental groups, including Greenpeace, say the government should build more tanks to hold the water outside the plant instead of choosing the cheaper option of ocean release. Many people have questioned Tepco's plans because there is a high level of distrust of the company.

Japan to release contaminated Fukushima water into sea after treatment

Fishing unions in Fukushima urged the government for years not to release the water, arguing it would undo work to restore the damaged reputation of their fisheries.

Last October, the head of Japan's fisheries unions said releasing the water would have a "catastrophic impact" on the industry.

Neighbouring countries have also expressed concern. On, a foreign ministry spokesman in South Korea, which maintains restrictions on Japanese produce, said it "expresses serious concerns that the decision could bring a direct and indirect impact on the safety of our people and surrounding environment."

Municipal councils in Busan and Ulsan, South Korean cities close to the sea, have called for the release plan to be scrapped.

In China, a foreign ministry spokesman in October urged Japan to act with a "high sense of responsibility towards its own people, neighbouring countries and the international community".

Top News / World+Biz

Japan / Fukushima nuclear station / Fukushima power plant / Fukushima water / Fukushima

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Finance projects export fall, remittance rise
    Finance projects export fall, remittance rise
  • Photo: TBS
    After 72-hour ultimatum, health directorate goes after illegal medical facilities 
  • Photo: Bloomberg
    Direct shipping now to Netherlands 

MOST VIEWED

  • The guy on the right just did a solid for the guy on the left.Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg
    Rishi Sunak’s helicopter drop makes the bank of England’s life easier
  • Ukrainian military medics transport a wounded soldier after treatment at a field hospital in Popasna, Ukraine, on May 8.Photographer: Chris McGrath/Getty Images/Bloomberg
    Russian wins in eastern Ukraine spark debate over course of war
  • We are not Sri Lanka, but it does not take much to be so 
    We are not Sri Lanka, but it does not take much to be so 
  • Starlink is ideal in rural or remote locations where internet access has been unreliable or completely unavailable. Photo: SpaceX
    Time for a reality check: How viable is Starlink in Bangladesh?
  • Sketch: TBS
    ‘Government officials tend to show exaggerated food production data to make the higher-ups happy’
  • Dr Zahid Hussain. Illustration: TBS
    The economics of remittance subsidy

Related News

  • Japan lifts restriction on foreign tourists after two years
  • Japan to allow lethal defence equipment exports to India, 11 countries
  • In home of world's biggest nuclear plant, a vote may shape Japan's atomic future
  • Japan to 'drastically strengthen' military capability
  • Modi, Biden stress on ‘strategic partnership based on trust’ at Japan meet

Features

Women voluntarily joined the peaceful procession and protested by wearing clothing of their own choice. Photo: Trishia Nashtaran

The unhealthy obsession with what women wear

7h | Panorama
Illustration: Freepik

Bangladesh is on the verge of destigmatising menstruation

12h | Features
Photo: Collected

The death of Davos?

17h | Panorama
A male Baya Weaver beating wings. Photo: Enam Ul Haque

Baya Weavers weave: ‘Must be witnessed to be fully credited’

21h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Attorney General's suggestion to reduce case clutter

Attorney General's suggestion to reduce case clutter

12h | Videos
JU food prices spike, students suffer

JU food prices spike, students suffer

12h | Videos
5% tax on poultry farmers earning above Tk10 lakh

5% tax on poultry farmers earning above Tk10 lakh

12h | Videos
Russian forces take Liman city of Ukraine

Russian forces take Liman city of Ukraine

12h | Videos

Most Read

1
Bangladesh Bank GM, DGM’s designation changed
Banking

Bangladesh Bank GM, DGM’s designation changed

2
Corporates go cashless…tax cut on cards
NBR

Corporates go cashless…tax cut on cards

3
Photo: Courtesy
Panorama

Misfit Technologies: A Singaporean startup rooted firmly in Bangladesh

4
British International Investment (BII) CEO Nick O’Donohoe. Illustration: TBS
Economy

BII to invest $450m in Bangladesh in 5 years

5
Representational image. Picture: Pixabay
Economy

Govt raises regulatory duty to discourage imports of 130 products

6
Photo: Collected
Industry

Spanish recycled cotton producer opens new facility in Bangladesh

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab