Japan’s dumping of water into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant is selfish and irresponsible, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a briefing on Friday.
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On Thursday, Japan began dumping water into the Pacific Ocean from the emergency Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed the start of the dump and said agency experts are on site to ensure that the procedure meets safety standards.
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“It is extremely selfish and irresponsible behavior to openly transfer the risk of radioactive contamination to the whole world,” Wang Wenbin said.
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The diplomat urged the Japanese side to “immediately correct its selfish behavior related to the transfer of the risk of nuclear pollution to the world” and not allow “the Fukushima water to become a disgrace to Japan.”
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Wang added that in response to Japan’s “grossly selfish and irresponsible actions” China and other parties concerned have the right to take legal, reasonable and necessary preventive measures to ensure the safety of the marine environment and human health.
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Earlier, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China reported that China has completely suspended the import of aquatic products made in Japan since August 24.
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During the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant in 2011, nuclear fuel melted at the first, second and third reactors. The water that is used to cool the reactors and is contaminated with radioactive substances passes through a multi-stage ALPS system, which makes it possible to purify it from 62 types of radionuclides, with the exception of tritium. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, otherwise it is called “superheavy hydrogen” or 3H, which makes it difficult to clean water from it. Tritium exists in nature, due to weak beta radiation its effect on humans is limited, at the same time it is dangerous if it enters the body.
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The operator of the Fukushima-1 emergency nuclear power plant, TEPCO, said on Friday that the concentration of tritium in the diluted treated low-level radioactive water, the discharge of which began the day before, was 142-178 becquerels per liter, which is significantly lower than the established norm of 1,500 becquerels per liter. The operator noted that seawater analyzes from 10 points within a radius of three kilometers from the station were also below the TEPCO threshold of 700 becquerels per liter, at which the operation would be stopped.
