Japan proposes to release 1.3 million tons of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear meltdown into the Pacific ocean sometime in the Spring or Summer of 2023.
The Pacific science community, including the Pacific Islands Forum, their expert scientific panel, the National Association of Marine Labs (an organization of over 100 labs including Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Stanford, and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and more, are uniting to say: STOP THE DUMP. The health of the ocean, and ultimately humans is at stake. Shark Stewards has joined an Ocean Health Alliance and Save the Pacific Ocean to advocate against Japan’s proposed illegal discharge of irradiated water into the North Pacific Ocean.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
- TEPCO, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, cites storage issues, yet there is a 12-mile radius of land within the exclusion zone where additional tanks could be built.
WHY DO WE CARE?
- They haven’t properly tested the water and the treatment plan. The Pacific science community, including the National Association of Marine Laboratories, Pacific Islands Forum, Pacific Islands groups and South Korea is pushing back. TEPCO’s current plan hasn’t been properly studied. The data they’ve provided is inadequate, incomplete, and inconsistent which is dangerous, and releasing this much nuclear water in the ocean could have disastrous health impacts on ocean and human life. This could destroy fisheries all over the pacific.
WHO?
- In favor: TEPCO, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, and the Japanese Government have approved this plan
- Regulators: IAEA, the UN-created nuclear watchdog organization also responsible for promoting nuclear power, and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), the Japan-based nuclear regulator.
- Oppose: The Pacific Islands Forum, including expert scientists, over 100 academic institutions from the National Association of Marine Laboratories (NAML), Safecast, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Pacific Island Citizens (Youngsolwara Pacific, PANG, etc.), citizens from across the Pacific, 9 million Japanese citizens, South Korea, and China all oppose this plan.