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Japan began on Thursday to dump into the Pacific Ocean more than one million tons of purified radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The process, which will take decades to complete, is part of the plan that the Japanese government approved two years ago to dismantle the nuclear power plant that was devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The decision has sparked protests in the country and aroused criticism from China, which considers it “irresponsible and selfish”, despite having the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The spill, approved two years ago by the Japanese government and which obtained the approval of the IAEA – dependent on the UN – last month, is a key step in the complicated process of dismantling the nuclear power plant, which also includes the withdrawal of the molten fuel. According to the company that owns the plant, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), the discharge of treated water began at 1:03 am local time (6:03 am in mainland Spain) and is currently proceeding as planned, with no irregularities or with the seawater pump or in the surrounding facilities, reports Reuters.
However, the spill is opposed by China, which in a statement from the Foreign Ministry has stated that it strongly opposes and condemns Tokyo’s decision, considering that the dumping of contaminated water is a major nuclear safety issue with broader implications. beyond the Japanese borders and in no way an internal matter of Japan. Earlier, a spokesman for the nuclear safety administration has described the move by the Government of Japan as “extremely selfish and irresponsible”, which puts “its own interests above the well-being of humanity”. Beijing announces that it will take the necessary measures to protect the marine environment, food safety and public health and that it will closely monitor the level of radiation in the waters after the spill.
Tokyo, for its part, has criticized China for spreading “protests without a scientific basis”, assuring that the spill is safe and stressing that the IAEA has already guaranteed that the impact on the environment or people is “insignificant”. However, there is also internal opposition, such as that of the Japanese fishing industry, which fears a drop in sales or bans on the export of its products. For example, Hong Kong and Macao have already warned that they will stop buying fish from several Japanese regions, including Fukushima and Tokyo.
![A man walks on a breakwater wall at the Ukedo fishing port, near the Fukushima nuclear power plant (background), in Namie on Thursday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/SGB4TNoKau1sVho4pMAgfUVKEkA=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/ZH4JC2OXRZCIPIBOZ5A3KAEKYA.jpg)
![A woman loads a truck with boxes of fish caught in the morning, at the Ukedo fishing port, near the Fukushima nuclear power plant, in Namie, Japan, on Thursday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/tkDCRLsGfj6V4a9q2xVNhKe7smo=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/4RKMGUZLBNGEBPDO63DXHQBPFY.jpg)
![Demonstrators take part in a protest against the discharge of purified radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, in front of the building that houses the Japanese embassy in Seoul (South Korea), this Thursday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/sN8VAkLmQBkXeppandNrBq83_ws=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/BYJL7N7HTRA3DPF4HIOXGDC73Y.jpg)
![Protesters place dolls that recreate radioactive fish during the protest in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul (South Korea), this Thursday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/fwNYoTEnHWSBeX7WKUjVrN0IR3w=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/QMHYETOOTJDUNGBYWSD3O2BAH4.jpg)
![A young protester is detained by police officers after trying to enter the Japanese embassy in Seoul in a protest against the dumping of contaminated water from Fukushima.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/s0H3_sAwB0SbVMOZsGsw_3N-yO4=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/L3TEPBZB75GCVNYIW4KFX3YHQQ.jpg)
![Posters against the discharge of purified radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, this Thursday in Seoul (South Korea).](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/gIP6k5LrXybu6F_RHCzu9odejD8=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/54HLYDDR5BEJNKNNFIWK3WGOQI.jpg)
![An aerial view of tanks containing treated radioactive wastewater at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in northern Japan on Tuesday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/MNlggcxn9cnehPcw1U_bXk8Fo68=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/WFWH2P2KB5FUNEYDVMZFF6BGAM.jpg)
![A group of protesters protests on a beach near the Fukushima nuclear power plant in the northeastern Japanese city of Namie on Thursday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/Dj4j-puU2cQf9Ftr9pATZE3R-pc=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/IVZDIUERGNBGHMLC2C22MGO5HA.jpg)
![Members and supporters of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party hold electronic candles during a rally to demand the withdrawal of the Japanese government's decision to release treated radioactive water into the sea, Wednesday in Seoul.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/lmvbz7bJfbw_XpX9XzEpeDPCLuc=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/2NGGWQHSIFCCNCWGG2B65OFSPU.jpg)
![A South Korean student protests in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Thursday over the dumping of contaminated water from the central Pacific Ocean.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/ZsmAxj9h5B2K68UOqY8iMsIIGxI=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/MTSKFHSQUNGHZJHMLAKAJB2NOQ.jpg)
![A group of protesters hold signs against the water spill from the nuclear power plant in front of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/aNuXDr2r9KQFq7jMGL-4UTme-wk=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/WD2MOCUBQND6FGWFR2IV6M27ZU.jpg)
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The water is going to be released into the sea in parts, starting with small amounts and with a higher level of control. The first discharge, of 7,800 cubic meters (7.8 million liters), the equivalent of three Olympic swimming pools, will take place over a period of 17 days. In total, Tepco expects the entire process to take about 30 years.
But is dumping dangerous?
According to Tepco test results released Thursday, that water contained about 63 becquerels of tritium (a unit that measures radioactive activity) per liter, below the World Health Organization’s drinking water limit of 10,000 becquerels per liter. liter. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is considered harmless because, according to the company, it emits very low levels of radiation and does not accumulate or concentrate within the human body. On the other hand, the IAEA has also issued a statement saying that its independent analysis on site had confirmed that the tritium concentration was well below the limit. “There will be no effect on health. There is no scientific basis. There is no reason to ban imports of Japanese food,” added Geraldine Thomas, a former professor of molecular pathology at Imperial College London.
In addition, some experts have pointed to Guardian that nuclear power plants in other countries, including China, have released diluted tritium into the sea for decades without incident. “Nuclear power plants around the world have routinely released tritium-containing water for more than 60 years without harming people or the environment, most at levels higher than those projected for Fukushima,” said Tony Irwin, Honorary Associate Professor of the Australian National University.
For their part, critics of the discharge say the lack of long-term data means it’s impossible to say for sure that tritium doesn’t pose a threat to human health or the marine environment. Greenpeace has said that the radiological risks had not been fully assessed and that the biological impacts of tritium, carbon-14, strontium-90 and iodine-129, which will be released as part of the discharge, “have been ignored”.
Civic groups have staged protests in Japan and South Korea, despite the fact that the Seoul government has also ensured that the discharge of water is safe. Shortly before the start of the spills, several dozen people have gathered in front of the Tepco headquarters in Tokyo, waving banners with slogans such as “Do not dump polluted water into the sea.” The protest has lasted for about an hour.
More important has been a protest in Seoul, where some 50 people have gathered and the police have arrested 14 for breaking into the building that houses the Japanese embassy. The group, mostly young people, reached the eighth floor, where the diplomatic legation is located, and hung banners against the spill, with slogans such as “the sea is not Japan’s garbage can” or “stop dump polluted water at once.”
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