Reuters: Japan PM tells fisheries minister to apologise for calling Fukushima wastewater 'contamina...

[OKIsItJustMe]

Japan PM tells fisheries minister to apologise for calling Fukushima wastewater 'contaminated'

Reuters
August 31, 2023 7:28 AM EDT

TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered his fisheries minister to apologise on Thursday for referring to treated radioactive water being released from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant as "contaminated" and told him to retract his remark.

Fisheries minister Tetsuro Nomura was heard calling the treated radioactive water "contaminated" when speaking to reporters earlier in the day following a meeting with Kishida.

He said his discussions with the premier involved "the evaluation of the contaminated water" after its release into the Pacific.

Nomura later apologised and retracted the comment but said he would not resign over it, the Jiji news service reported.

…

[LiberaBlueDem]

1. Bad water?

That water is so pure they're gonna bottle it and sell it for $5 each!

[stopdiggin]

2. This is probably not as big a deal

as some are trying to make out. (the amount of radioactivity in the water released is exceedingly low). Interestingly - also in the news is China (that most environmentally friendly superpower) making a concerted effort to propagandize on the event. "Go, Xi!"

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Check out the NewsHour video

It’s got a nice explanation.

[stopdiggin]

4. I've done some reading on this 'controversy'

enough to feel confident that my opinions here have some validity. The 'risk factor' is fairly low - and the 'alternatives' are all uniformly much more problematic.

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. I would say that's the main thrust of the video

i.e. the “risk” is relatively low. Every nuclear plant in the world is releasing tritium into the water.

[LiberaBlueDem]

5. WQ tests

You have seen a report from them detailing what's in the water?
No, and you never will, so why do you claim anything about the radioactivity of water that has been completely contaminated?

Your propaganda is not going to cut it.

[OKIsItJustMe]

7. I encourage you to watch the PBS video

It’s hardly propaganda. I feel it does a good job of presenting “both sides of the issue” including “what is in the water.”

I’m no great fan of nuclear fission plants, but I am a great fan of the truth.

[stopdiggin]

8. it would appear as though the 'contamination'

is quite low, and deemed substantially safe by knowledgeable people. I'm sorry that you apparently feel differently.

Japan has said the water release is safe, which has been backed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The United Nations nuclear watchdog gave the plan the go-ahead after an inspection in July, saying it met international standards and that the effect on people and the environment was “negligible”.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/22/japan-to-start-releasing-fukushima-water-from-thursday

[LiberaBlueDem]

9. Yeah, lets see the WQ report

The greenwashing of Fukushima started the first day it blew up.

Nothing to see here! And you damn sure, not you or PBS or anybody will ever see a true report of what is in that water

[stopdiggin]

11. why would I assume that the UN

and the IAEA are engaged in cover up and propaganda? At some point one has to start thinking 'conspiracy' ...

[OKIsItJustMe]

13. I wouldn't call it "Greenwashing" I'd simply call it "Whitewashing" (they aren't the same thing)

They did not claim that the meltdowns were somehow good for the environment, simply that things were not as bad as they appeared. By initially downplaying the gravity of the situation TEPCO damaged their credibility.

The key “contaminant” of concern here is tritium. The EPA has a good write-up on tritium:

https://www.epa.gov/radiation/radionuclide-basics-tritium

Radionuclide Basics: Tritium

Tritium (abbreviated as ³H) is a hydrogen atom that has two neutrons in the nucleus and one proton. Tritium is produced naturally in the upper atmosphere when cosmic rays strike nitrogen molecules in the air. Tritium is also produced during nuclear weapons explosions, and as a byproduct in nuclear reactors. Although tritium can be a gas, its most common form is in water because radioactive tritium reacts with oxygen to form water.

…

[OKIsItJustMe]

10. CNN: Japan will start releasing treated radioactive water this week. Here's what we know

Japan will start releasing treated radioactive water this week. Here’s what we know

By Jessie Yeung and Emiko Jozuka, CNN
Published 1:17 AM EDT, Tue August 22, 2023

…

What are the risks?

Though the radioactive wastewater contains some dangerous elements, the majority of these can be removed through various treatment processes, according to TEPCO.

The real issue is there is no technology available to take away a hydrogen isotope called radioactive tritium, and authorities and experts are divided on the risk it poses, if any.

TEPCO, Japan’s government, and the IAEA argue that tritium occurs naturally in the environment, including in rain and tap water, so the wastewater is safe, especially as it will be released slowly over decades.

But some scientists worry that the wastewater, even diluted, could harm marine life, and pollutants could accumulate in the already frail ecosystem.

…

[stopdiggin]

12. thanks. I give you credit

for offering up solid information. (and attempting to moderate, in some degree, the thread). Kudos.

[OKIsItJustMe]

14. You're welcome!

(I try.)

[LiberaBlueDem]

15. All these 'experts'

Greenwashing TEPCO and Japan without any science reminds me of the climate deniers

Let me know when you see a WQ report detailing what is in the water?

The nuclear scientists from Korea are not happy. Why is that? Because they know what is in the water. It is poison.

[OKIsItJustMe]

16. Why do you say there isn't "any science?"

No, seriously…

What sort of “science” are you looking for?

[LiberaBlueDem]

18. What science?

A WQ report detailing what's in the water.

Yeah, nuclear power is so clean there is no reason for the NRC, because the huge money behind nuclear power and the DoD would never lie and they always tell the truth to CNN and the UN and all the rest.

What science, you ask? Give me a break, you have no science.

[OKIsItJustMe]

19. NPR: We unpacked Japan's plan to release Fukushima wastewater

We unpacked Japan's plan to release Fukushima wastewater

August 28, 2023 12:10 AM ET
By Geoff Brumfiel, Kat Lonsdorf, Rachel Carlson, Rebecca Ramirez, Regina G. Barber

…

What do scientists think?
Most scientists say the plan will have a negligible impact on the environment.

"The risk is really, really, really low," says Jim Smith, a professor of environmental science at the University of Portsmouth. "I would call it not a risk at all. We've got to put radiation in perspective, and the plant release—if it's done properly—then, the doses that people get and the doses that the ecosystem get just won't be significant, in my opinion."

However, some people are still worried about long-term risks of the plan, both to people and to the environment.

"We're not going to suffer directly from the doses from this. But it's, you know, one of the many things we're adding to our ocean that if you have an alternative, we certainly should consider more fully," says Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "And I don't think that's been done in the past couple of years."

…

[OKIsItJustMe]

20. UN News: Japan: IAEA monitoring treated water release from Fukushima nuclear plant

Japan: IAEA monitoring treated water release from Fukushima nuclear plant

24 August 2023 | Climate and Environment

Japan has begun discharging treated radioactive wastewater from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the Pacific Ocean, 12 years on from the major meltdown there, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed on Thursday.

The decision to release the water into the sea has sparked criticism in Japan and the region.

Long-term commitment

The IAEA has been providing real-time data on the controlled release of the treated water, including on water flow rates and radiation monitoring.

“The IAEA has committed to be present before, during and after this process,” Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a video statement.

…

An IAEA report issued last month said Japan’s approach and activities to discharge the treated water were “consistent with relevant international safety standards”.

Furthermore, the “controlled, gradual discharges” of the treated water would have a “negligible radiological impact” on people and the environment.



…

[OKIsItJustMe]

21. IAEA Presents Monitoring Data from Japan on Treated Water Release from Fukushima Daiichi

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/iaea-presents-monitoring-data-from-japan-on-treated-water-release-from-fukushima-daiichi

IAEA Presents Monitoring Data from Japan on Treated Water Release from Fukushima Daiichi

The IAEA is providing live data from Japan on the release of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) on the IAEA website. The data provided includes water flow rates, radiation monitoring data and the concentration of tritium after dilution.

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the FDNPS operator, today began the controlled discharge of ALPS-treated water into the sea. At the same time, TEPCO began transmitting data from various points in the process to the IAEA.

The IAEA is continuing its impartial, independent and objective safety review of Japan’s discharge of water stored at FDNPS.


Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company is transmitting data from various points of the controlled discharge of ALPS-treated water into the sea. (Image: A. Vargas/IAEA)

The Agency issued its comprehensive report on the safety review of the ALPS-treated water at the FDNPS on 4 July. In the report, the IAEA concluded that Japan’s approach and activities to discharge ALPS-treated water are consistent with relevant international safety standards. The report noted that the controlled, gradual discharges of the treated water to the sea, as currently planned and assessed by TEPCO, would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.

…

[OKIsItJustMe]

22. At this moment, the concentration of Tritium is 205 Bq/l

Check to see what it is now: https://www.iaea.org/topics/response/fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-accident/fukushima-daiichi-alps-treated-water-discharge/tepco-data

[LiberaBlueDem]

23. Bad source

The IAEA website is not about to publish anything that discounts its chief's proclamation that it's all perfectly safe

[NNadir]

25. I'm somewhat nostalgic for antinuke conspiracy theories...

Last edited Fri Sep 1, 2023, 12:53 PM - Edit history (1)

...although in reality, given the death toll from air pollution and more recently climate change, they've killed a lot of people, vastly more people than antivaxxers, the more modern version of conspiracy theorists, could have hoped to kill.

It works out to roughly 80 million people killed by air pollution driven by antinuke fear and ignorance since Fukushima.

[OKIsItJustMe]

26. Do you have a better source?

If so, I’d love to see it!

Remember, it’s not just the IAEA saying that there’s really very little risk here.

[OKIsItJustMe]

17. BBC: The science behind the Fukushima waste water release

The science behind the Fukushima waste water release

…

If Japan was able to remove all radioactive elements from the waste water before piping it into the ocean, perhaps it would not have been so controversial.

The problem is being caused by a radioactive element of hydrogen called tritium, which can't be removed from the contaminated water because there is no technology to do it. Instead, the water is diluted.

…

The IAEA, which has a permanent office at Fukushima, said an "independent, on-site analysis" had shown that the tritium concentration in the water discharged was "far below the operational limit of 1,500 becquerels per litre (Bq/L)".

That limit is six times less than the World Health Organization's limit for drinking water, which is at 10,000 Bq/L, a measure of radioactivity.

…

Is the WHO’s limit on tritium in drinking water too high? That’s a different discussion.

Right now (surprise, surprise!) China is mounting a major disinformation campaign.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/world/asia/china-fukushima-water-protest.html

China’s Disinformation Fuels Anger Over Fukushima Water Release

By exaggerating the risks from Japan’s discharge of treated wastewater, Beijing hopes to cast Japan and its allies as conspirators in malfeasance, analysts say.

…

[NNadir]

24. Anyone complaining about this can't possibly give a shit about "science."

Antinukes are spectacular for greenwashing fossil fuels.

There is something called "the scientific literature," and a vague bullshit appeal without references is just that, bullshit.

It would be interesting if the people using electricity provided by dangerous natural gas and coal to make stupid statements could demonstrate that the tritium being released will kill anyone, never mind as many as the 19,000 people who will die today from air pollution because of uneducated antinukes expressing their contempt for science have led to the continued use of fossil fuels.

For the record my son is a nuclear scientist, living and working among nuclear scientists, and trust me, they believe that the people carrying on about this are out of their minds.