Suga vows swift decision on release of Fukushima radioactive water

Isn’t it a foregone conclusion-the release of yet more radioactivity into the sea around Fukushima?

Why is this news, everyone knows they will just dump it in the ocean without care :(

Suga promises to make a swift decision on this crucial matter looming since 2011, just wait for it...

Suga vows swift decision

Lets hope it is a NO or I won't be able to eat sushi

Storing contaminated radioactive groundwater in tanks is like a goose trying to drain a river by drinking up the water. It’s been apparent that, sooner or later, efforts to contain the contaminated groundwater by installing a tank after a tank would come across a grave problem, which we are witnessing now.

Why is this news, everyone knows they will just dump it in the ocean without care :(

Isn’t it a foregone conclusion-the release of yet more radioactivity into the sea around Fukushima?

Swift decision means swift release into the ocean before anyone can voice objections or concerns and just throw up your hands and say shoganai.

To think that storing it in huge tanks would be the long term solution to the problem is the question we should be asking.

I am sure that if the same amount of money and effort that was spent on hosting the Olympics in Tokyo was given to this more urgent issue we wouldn't be in this predicament now.

It's a sad state of affairs to be in really!

Pay compensation money to fishermen who are afraid of negative rumors. Release the tritium included water to ocean. It is the only way to solve the issue. The water will be released after neutralized to safety levels. Tritium is not harmful to humans. Tritium decays in 12 years. They cannot increase water tanks in Fukushima forever.

I will also make the swift decision to stay clear from Japanese seafood for the next decade.

And how much trust should we put in the LDP and TEPCO? They started all this. I'm not a physicist and I think most people would be amenable to seeing a third party report by the IAEA, NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission), and UCS (Union of Concerned Scientists). Why the U.S. NRC? Because the two major currents off eastern Japan, the Kuroshio and Oyashio flow east back to the U.S. west coast. Remember all the tsunami debris washing up on west coast shores and in Hawaii? This doesn't just impact the local fishermen, a nuke disaster affects the world, and Suga had better treat it in that manner. Again, I'm not a physicist and I would like to read or hear something coming from other than the LDP or TEPCO.

It happened close to 10 years ago. I support this decision!

They have built thousands of containers and are running out of space and containers.

Japan is an Island Nation with limited space, I don't see any other country offering to take it the contaminated water, all you do is complain.

Does it count other countries have done the same?

Does it count its being filtered better then any other country could do? Japan is using it's most advanced technologies.

Does it count its being filtered better then any other country could do? Japan is using it's most advanced technologies.

Provide evidence or links that it is filtered better and the technology is advanced and proven.

ReasonandWisdomNipponToday  09:01 am JST

It happened close to 10 years ago. I support this decision!

Ten years of inaction is something you support?

They have built thousands of containers and are running out of space and containers.

100s and what's your point.

Japan is an Island Nation with limited space, I don't see any other country offering to take it the contaminated water, all you do is complain.

Do you understand how much shipping costs?

Does it count other countries have done the same?

The major difference being that countries which are currently releasing radioactive water into the sea are allowing independent bodies to check this. The Japanese agencies involved have banned media and foreign bodies from investigating.

Does it count its being filtered better then any other country could do? Japan is using it's most advanced technologies.

Two quotes for you.

Doubts about the plant’s water treatment escalated two years ago when TEPCO acknowledged that most of the water stored in the tanks still contains cancer-causing cesium, strontium and other radioactive materials at levels exceeding safety limits.

and

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in April that the system still had not “accomplished the expected result of removing some radionuclides” in tests, and noted Tepco needed to develop long-term storage plans for waste created by treating water

Suga vows swift decision on release of Fukushima radioactive water

Translation: Suga vows to announce the decision to release the water into the ocean which was made years ago, but which Abe was too afraid of Fishing Lobby pushback to carry out.

This is going in the sea. So let us have no more of the "Japanese seafood is healthy" recitals. You poison your food source, it stops being healthy.

He's just waiting for the ringi-sho to circulate round.

Swift of course means after 20 meetings, 20 dinners at Nobu, 20 nomikai, and then the decision that will be announced after the water has been released. Japanese are the masters at Kabuki, and you know how all of them end.

The water is not radioactive. It is contaminated with radioactive particles.

Should be a bit quicker with the planned abolishing of hankos.

Though a swift decision would be done in less than a day.

And how much trust should we put in the LDP and TEPCO? They started all this. I'm not a physicist and I think most people would be amenable to seeing a third party report by the IAEA, NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission), and UCS (Union of Concerned Scientists). 

Both IAEA and NRC have recommended the water discharge plan.

IAEA supports discharge of Fukushima Daiichi water 03 April 2020

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-supports-discharge-of-Fukushima-Daiichi-water

Fukushima Radioactive Water Should Be Released Into the Sea, Experts Tell Japanese Government

https://www.newsweek.com/fukushima-radioactive-water-released-sea-experts-japanese-government-1485051

Quote:

According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), tritium is "a naturally occurring radioactive form of hydrogen that is produced in the atmosphere when cosmic rays collide with air molecules."

Small traces can be found in groundwater as background radiation. Tritium is also a byproduct of nuclear power production. It is associated with an increased risk of cancer, but the extent of this increase depends on the measure of the chemical an individual is exposed to.

Just FYI. Tritium does not decay in 12 years, the half life is 12 years. Suga is already under fire for rejecting scientists to the science advisory panel who are critical of the government. Environmental minister Koizumi has been mum about this lately even though the Nuclear Regulation Authority is under his purview. The NRA was formed and restructured from the corrupt Nuclear Safety Commission after the Fukushima disaster. The initial NRA had very strict regulations on restarts and oversight during the Democratic party's Kan and Noda administrations but when Abe took power around 2012, the agency did a quick turnaround and became very lax in restarts and oversight. A lot of this was news at the time, but has fallen by the wayside now. Japan can't be trusted, it needs a third party report to legitimize any actions it takes on waste disposal. Abe prioritized the olympics over the Fukushima cleanup, that in itself should be self-explanatory.

while China and South Korea have cast a wary eye on the issue after it was reported that an official decision on the discharge of water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, 

Terribly hypocrite and politically motivated. Their home and coastal nuclear power plants also regularly discharge much larger amount of spent water into seas nearby. Suspend the operations of those reactors if they are to stay consistent.

Both IAEA and NRC have recommended the water discharge plan.

IAEA supports discharge of Fukushima Daiichi water 03 April 2020

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-supports-discharge-of-Fukushima-Daiichi-water

You realise we can read right?

direct quotes from the article you posted.

"the IAEA said the two options for controlled disposal outlined by the advisory subcommittee - vapour release and discharges to the sea - were both technically feasible."

"Reiterating advice from an IAEA decommissioning review mission to the plant in 2018, the experts said a decision on the disposition path for the stored treated water - after further treatment as needed - should be taken urgently"

All the article you posted said was releasing the water was an option, once filtered as needed. TEPCO has said they haven't filtered the water to the standard needed.

the IAEA said the two options for controlled disposal outlined by the advisory subcommittee - vapour release and discharges to the sea - were both technically feasible."

"Reiterating advice from an IAEA decommissioning review mission to the plant in 2018, the experts said a decision on the disposition path for the stored treated water - after further treatment as needed - should be taken urgently"

All the article you posted said was releasing the water was an option, once filtered as needed. TEPCO has said they haven't filtered the water to the standard needed.

exactly

Tritium does not decay in 12 years, the half life is 12 years. Suga is already under fire for rejecting scientists to the science advisory panel who are critical of the government. Environmental minister Koizumi has been mum about this lately even though the Nuclear Regulation Authority is under his purview. The NRA was formed and restructured from the corrupt Nuclear Safety Commission after the Fukushima disaster. The initial NRA had very strict regulations on restarts and oversight during the Democratic party's Kan and Noda administrations but when Abe took power around 2012, the agency did a quick turnaround and became very lax in restarts and oversight. A lot of this was news at the time, but has fallen by the wayside now. Japan can't be trusted, it needs a third party report to legitimize any actions it takes on waste disposal. Abe prioritized the olympics over the Fukushima cleanup, that in itself should be self-explanatory.

Well said!

By the way, al jazeera did a program on that where all the LDP propaganda gets debunked thoroughly and the LDP spokesman Tanigaki was made to look like a FOOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbWY5FBe93w

All the article you posted said was releasing the water was an option, once filtered as needed.

It's the most viable option, and this is exactly how almost all other active nuclear reactors do in the normal operations.

TEPCO has said they haven't filtered the water to the standard needed.

The water release is scheduled to get start at earliest in 2022. TEPCO has sufficient time to get prepared to meet technical requirements.

Considering the half life of tritium is 12 years should not it be safer to just increase storage space and start releasing in 2035 at the rate of 1 year stock by year. That should drop the level of active tritium in the water significantly and still be a reasonable amount of time for management as it would fall on the responsability of the same generation.

Could also be paired with evaporation by building a big pool were the older water will be put to evaporate, thought I do not know how that could affect the timing for releasing pool water.

Obviously than is after the contaminated water is filtered again to remove what should not be in it after the first filtering which happened to be faulty.

And if we are lucky by that time significant progress would be made so that we will be able to stop the disaster still in play thus the production of contaminated water. We already had some issue with involuntary release should not top it up with voluntary ones (water a few years ago, soil last year for the one I remember).

So the experts have had their say, God help us talk about the blind leading the blind

You have to love when someone vows to make a "swift decision", instead of, you know, making a swift decision (that has been in the works since 2011).

In any case, we all know they're going to dump it. When they do, I hope the usual posters and Japanese don't complain and blame the rest of the world when the world rightfully bans Japanese products, and I hope ALL nations do. The ocean is not Japan's personal trash can, and if they treat it as such, the world has the right to treat Japan like trash.

did Suga drink the water? we need the Oishi validity!

Suga shall proceed with his decision and dont listen to so called "foreign" experts opinions. what can you expect from someone who dont even have basic knowledge of wearing mask during pandemic period. They cant even answer the simple question of " shall we wear mask in the public area? ". All they know is shouting freedom freedom and guess what? yeah they have the highest Covid cases in the world. Think twice before you take their advice

As long as the news media uses the words 'radioactive water' people will be freaked out. The article mentions how the water was treated only at the very end with tritium being the only element left. Tritium has a half life of 12.5 years, but the article doesn't help determine how long or how much tritium is left to be dangerous and when diluted with the billions of gallons of water in the ocean is it still dangerous? Without facts like these, articles like this seem to just trigger peoples fears. I wish news articles could instead help ease our fears.

@ Mark

Welcome to the world of 2 : Suga and not Suga. You are Suga or you are "foreign" experts opinions which is a sole "someone" but also "they". Not Suga seems to suffer from schizophrenia, isn't it.

Seriously what do people in charge of managing a pandemic are to do with the ones in charge of managing a nuclear disaster in process ? Sure some could be part of the 2 teams as the communication or geopolitics experts but several of them are not. So you seems to get your things kind of mixed up.

smithinjapan

Well said

smithinjapan, it is not convincing at all when someone is asking the world to treat Japan like trash, but at the same time that someone is living eating earning drinking and doing all his activities in Japan

So why can't or shouldn't Japan do it like other countries do?

International sanction could help our new dear leader decide.

25% tariffs on cars would be a good start.

Boycott of Olympics.

Does not look like there is a technofix for the situation. He will have to release some into the ocean. Which would not be a big deal, if the sensationalist media were not blowing it out of proportion.

vows swift decision

I don't think it means what they think it means

It was a political decision that it should have been done a long time ago by the Abe administration. Every day thousands of tons of tritium are dumped into the sea by nuclear power plants around the world, no one complains. People sometimes forget that a CT scan or an X-RAY it radiates as much radiation as living beside to the fukushima plant.

Yes, radiation is dangerous to health but hysteria about nuclear Power Plants should not be used for political purposes because Japanese Nuclear Power Plants has the world-wide safety standards guaranteed by the IAEA.

@Udondashi.

You are incorrect.

Contaminated water contains also radioactivity except Tritium, part of them are beyond safety standard.

But Japanese government call contaminated water as "Tritium water" "treated water" "water containing Tritium" to make radioactive contamination looks small, also obedient major media of Japan are calling contaminated water so.

Japanese government emphasizes safety of "treated water" but they never move it from Fukushima.

because nobody believe in its safety.

Evaporate all the water make 500000 tons os pure radio active waste n send it with love to China for creating Corona Pandemic no one nation in the world will utter a word

AviBajaj

Evaporate all the water

Err... you do realize that that would evaporate the Tritium too, or is that news to you?

Suga. LDP. Tepco. Should use it as their own personal source of drinking water.

WilliB comeon dont b a donkey only liquid evaporates if the solid evaporated it wont bcom pure radio active waste

only liquid evaporates

You might want to check what tritium is.

https://ask.metafilter.com/227591/Can-you-safely-evaporate-radioactive-water

Swift decision means swift release into the ocean before anyone can voice objections or concerns and just throw up your hands and say shoganai.

The Japanese are described as a people with a series of “but also’s.” They are slow, taking almost a decade to make a decision but also swift, flipping a switch and just dump contaminated water into the ocean. They are extremely polite but also very rude. They dislike change but also adapt to innovation. They are brave but also cowards hiding people’s erasers and shoes. They are serious but also flippant. It’s Japan.

The radioactive strontium, which IS in the water to be released

@Farmboy, do you have any recent information about this? I know strontium-90 and iodine-129 were found in a lot of the water following initial treatment. That was about 2 years ago. But I understood that there was to be a secondary treatment intended to reduce the amount to acceptable levels before discharging into the sea. I'm assuming (perhaps naively) that the water to be discharged will meet acceptable standards. But it would be nice to have accurate data on the current situation.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2258055-should-japan-dump-radioactive-water-from-fukushima-into-the-ocean/

Given there is so much international concern over the proposed plan then competent, independent, international verification of the levels of other nuclear contaminants is the only way of allaying that concern.

If and only if the water is adequately filtered then sea disposal is the best solution. But that is it self dependant on how diluted it is and on a very wide dispersion. Given all that then the impact on the existing background radiation of the Pacific will be negligible to non existent. Dumping it just off shore will be an environmental and reputational disaster.