A panel of scientists has not found conclusive evidence that the discharge of Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific ocean would be entirely safe

Independent scientists are questioning Japan’s plans to dump just over one million tonnes of nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, following a review of the available evidence.

The panel of multi-disciplinary scientists, hired by the intergovernmental Pacific Islands Forum, has not found conclusive evidence that the discharge would be entirely safe, and one marine biologist fears contamination could affect the food system.

Last year Japan announced that wastewater from the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, destroyed in March 2011 following the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami, would be dropped into the Pacific in 2023.

The announcement triggered immediate concern from nations and territories in the Asia-Pacific region and led the Pacific Islands Forum to hire a panel of five independent experts to review the plan.

Previously, it was broadly believed that dropping the wastewater into the ocean would be safe, given it had been treated with “advanced liquid processing system” technology, which removes radioactive materials from contaminated water.

But panel scientist Robert Richmond, director of the University of Hawaii Kewalo Marine Laboratory, says the panel unanimously believes that critical gaps in information remain.

Previous discussions over the safety of Japan’s plans emphasised the chemistry of the discharge, but not how it could interact with marine life, he said.

“If the ocean were a sterile glass vessel, that would be one thing,” Richmond said. “But it’s not, you know, there’s lots of biology involved.”

Richmond has been particularly concerned about the potential for tritium – a key compound of concern – being absorbed into the food system because the radioactive isotope can bind to phytoplankton.

Through phytoplankton, Richmond says, the radioactive element could then find its way into the greater food system as the microscopic plants are consumed by mollusks and small fish, which are later consumed by other fish and eventually humans.

“Things like mercury in fish are now of an international concern. Radionuclides will be the same,” Richmond said.

The situation is dynamic too, as climate change affects the temperature of waters and weather patterns change.

“As temperatures go up, many chemicals become more interactive, they become a little bit different in terms of break down,” he said. “So these are all the things we need to consider.”

The Pacific Islands Forum convened its panel of experts – specialising in policy and different scientific disciplines – because of the highly technical nature of Japan’s plan.

The PIF did not respond to a request for an interview for this story.

But Forum Secretary General Henry Puna has said that while Japan was open and frank in several information sessions held with the Forum, it wanted to bring on its own group of experts to look at the data and advise them.

“I just want to note that, for us, the issue is very urgent but also requires very careful thinking,” Puna said in September.

Since Japan announced it would release the treated water into the Pacific, it has been working with the International Atomic Energy Association to ensure its plans are safe. In February the IAEA made its first assessment and recently completed a second assessment at the end of March.

The IAEA is expected to deliver reports from its site visits in the next two months, according to its website, and would release a fully comprehensive report before any water is released.

Richmond said the panel wants to work with Japan and the IAEA to ensure the best outcome.

Nonetheless, the information seen by the panel showed less than one percent of the tanks of wastewater had been treated and less than 20 percent had been adequately sampled, Richmond says.

“Based on those numbers alone, we’re uncomfortable in making predictions of where things are going to end up,” Richmond said.

Community groups and environmental organisations were quick to respond to the news last year, raising concerns about the longterm effects to their region, with its legacy of nuclear testing and the fallout. And coastal communities and fishermen in Japan have also raised concerns.

The U.S expressed its support for the plan in April last year, which has since been criticised by U.S territories and affiliated states.

Representative Sheila Babauta of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands introduced a resolution to CNMI’s House of Representatives opposing any nuclear testing, storage or waste disposal in the Pacific.

It was passed in December, months after the U.S stated its position and after other Pacific groups and governments condemned the move.

“I’m really disappointed in the lack of engagement, the lack of information and the lack of free, prior and informed consent,” Babauta, who chairs the Natural Resources Committee, said.

The mistrust that is harboured by many in the Pacific stems back to U.S nuclear testing in the Republic of Marshall Islands following World War II, British testing in Kiribati and the French in French Polynesia, which had flow-on effects to the environment and long term health of Pacific people. And in 1979, Japan provoked backlash when it revealed plans to dump 10,000 drums of nuclear waste in the Marianas Trench.

Babauta says she introduced the resolution as a show of solidarity for the rest of the Pacific.

“The ocean is our oldest ancestor. The ocean is our legacy,” Babauta said. “It’s what we’re going to leave for our children,” said Babauta.

Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced at the Fourth Asia-Pacific Water Summit that Japan would help to solve water-related issues that blight the region. However, the same Kishida is fine with releasing radioactive water from the stricken nuclear plant in Fukushima.

China, South Korea, and other nations have raised concerns about releasing contaminated water from the stricken Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima. This is scheduled to start next year. Therefore, for Kishida to announce 500 billion yen (US$3.9 billion) in helping to solve water-related issues in the Pacific is ironic.

The local fishing trade in Fukushima is also opposed to Kishida’s plan. Hiroshi Kishi, the leader of Japan’s national fisheries cooperatives, notified Kishida that he opposes the plan to release contaminated water into the sea.

Kishi said, “I told (Prime Minister Fumio) Kishida our position to oppose the discharge remains exactly the same… We just hope people in the fisheries industry will be able to continue fishing with peace of mind.”.

Last year, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of China, uttered, “The ocean is not Japan’s trash can. The Pacific is not Japan’s sewer.”

Nations welcome Japan’s support for water concerns that persist in the Pacific Ocean – so it is good that economic support is forthcoming.

“This is a good opportunity to take a major step toward solving global water problems by bringing together the wisdom and determination of the Asia-Pacific region,” Kishida said.

This story was written by Thomas Heaton, originally published at Honolulu Civil Beat on 25 April 2022, reposted via PACNEWS.