[Global Joint Statement to the Japanese Government and IAEA]

Stop Dumping Radioactive Water from Fukushima Daiichi into the Pacific Ocean, Store it on Land

The Japanese government plans to dump radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. Dumping contaminated water into the ocean is irresponsible and threatens the environment and life. Radioactive materials have long-term effects on ecosystems, but no proper verification or assessment of the resulting damage or impact was conducted. The IAEA is supporting the plan to dump radioactive water rather than carry out damage assessments or recommend alternatives.

The Japanese government insists that treated water is safe, but it is just a wish. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has been able to do nothing but spray water to treat the melted nuclear fuel for 12 years after the accident. Even the Japan Nuclear Society states that decommissioning the nuclear reactors within 40 years, as planned by the Japanese government, is impossible.

Whether water is contaminated, treated, or diluted, it is still radioactive water. The release through a tunnel is not exempt from the London Convention and the Law of the Sea. The contaminated water can be stored in Chernobyl sarcophaguses, petroleum storage tanks, or hardened concrete in the long term until its radioactivity has weakened.

The 16th Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Convention prohibited the dumping of all types of radioactive waste including low- and mid-level materials in 1993. The dumping of radioactive contaminated water is a violation of the duty to conserve the marine ecosystem defined under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The IAEA should recommend minimizing the damage to ecosystems and beyond the border by adopting a safer method than the release of contaminated water.

The sea is the source of all life forms. Dumping radioactive water is the act of killing lives which cannot be condoned by global citizens.

In celebration of World Ocean Day, the 8th of June, we request as follows:

1. The Japanese government should not dump radioactive water from Fukushima Daiichi into the ocean.
2. The Japanese government should store and treat radioactive water from Fukushima Daiichi on land.
3. The Japanese government should stop the propaganda that releasing radioactive water is safe.
4. The IAEA should stop supporting the Japanese government and TEPCO for the dumping of contaminated water into the ocean.

 June 8th, 2023

1,172 Individuals and organizations

against the dumping of radioactive water from Fukushima Daiichi

• 7 international and regional NGOs
• 68 national CSOs from 30 countries
• 255 individuals from 38 countries
• 910 individuals and organizations from Japan