Plan to release treated Fukushima water angers China
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TOKYO • •Japan's nuclear regulator yesterday formally approved a plan to release more than a million tonnes of treated water from the crippled Fukushima plant into the ocean, sparking an angry reaction from China.
Cooling systems at the nuclear plant were overwhelmed when an undersea quake triggered a tsunami in 2011, causing the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says the treated water meets national standards for radionuclide levels, except for one element, tritium, which experts say is harmful to humans only in large doses. It plans to dilute the water to reduce tritium levels and release it offshore over several decades.
But local fishing communities fear consumers will once again shun their products if the water is released in the area.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin lashed out at the plan, saying it "relates to the global marine environment and the public health of Pacific Rim countries, and is by no means a private matter for Japan".
"If Japan insists on putting its own self-interest above the international public interest and insists on taking (this) dangerous step, it will definitely pay the price for its irresponsible behaviour," Mr Wang said at a regular briefing.
Other regional neighbours, including South Korea and Taiwan, and groups like Greenpeace, have also previously criticised the plan.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
