On Thursday, a team of international scientists collected fish samples from a port town near Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, seeking to assess the impact of the plant’s recent release of treated radioactive water into the sea. The study by the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog is the first since the water release began in August, a move that drew criticism from local fishermen and prompted China to ban all imports of marine products from Japan over food safety fears. The government has defended the decision to start releasing the water, saying it’s necessary because the tanks are full and holding back the process of decommissioning the plant. But critics say the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) must be more transparent about the project’s data and information.
Even though the water has been filtered to legally releasable levels, the community is still worried about the release’s potential health and economic impacts. Many local fishermen believe that even after filtration, contaminants from the reactor meltdowns may remain in the water. They are also concerned about how the water will affect the environment and fishing businesses in the region, and they are skeptical that TEPCO is being transparent enough about the information it is sharing with them.
The fishermen aren’t trained scientists, but they are passionate about their children’s and their hometowns’ future. “If the released water destroys our sea and kills the fish, it will ruin the future of this place,” says Watanabe Suisan, who runs a seafood restaurant in a port town near Fukushima. She says that prices for her scallops have fallen by up to 30% since China banned Japanese seafood exports, and she doesn’t expect them to return to normal soon.
Scientists like Ken Buesseler of the Environmental Working Group say that TEPCO has a long way to go before restoring confidence in the water release plan. He wants to see the government and TEPCO do more to test the quality of the water being released and to increase transparency about the data and information on the project. He would like to see the IAEA’s new office that opened at the Fukushima plant in July monitor the water release and publish real-time monitoring data.
TEPCO officials insist that the water has been tested and will have negligible effects on people and the environment. Still, some scientists are skeptical about how the long-term impact of low-dose radiation will be determined and whether the plan is being implemented in line with international safety standards.
NBC News’ Janis Mackey Frayer and Larissa Gao report from Japan, with additional reporting by Jeremy Black in Beijing, China, and Kat Hesser in Seoul, South Korea. NBC News is a nonprofit organization that depends on your support. Please consider becoming a Champion today to help fund more than 170 reporting projects each year on critical global and local issues. Click here to learn more about how you can help.
