Manifestations and import restrictions
greenpeace denounced that the filtering process was faulty and that an “immense” amount of radioactive material will be dispersed into the sea in the coming decades.
But Tony Hooker, a nuclear expert at the University of Adelaide (Australia), dismissed it as “alarmism”.
“Tritium has been released (by nuclear power plants) for decades with no evidence of detrimental effects on the environment or health,” he told AFP.
The International Atomic Energy Organization said in July that the discharge would have a “negligible impact on people and the environment.”
However, the Japanese plan raises concerns in the region.
In South Korea there were protests against it and some alarmed citizens stockpiled sea salt for fear that the water from which it is obtained would end up contaminated.
However, the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol, in the midst of a campaign to relax historically distant relations with Tokyo, has not opposed Japan’s plan.
China, on the other hand, criticized the Japanese decision. “The ocean is the common property of all mankind, not a place for Japan to arbitrarily dump water contaminated with nuclear matter,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin reacted.
Beijing will take “necessary measures to safeguard the marine environment, food safety and public health,” it added.
The Asian giant banned the importation of food products from ten Japanese prefectures and imposed radiation controls on those from the rest of the archipelago.