[Press Release for Immediate Release]

Peoples' Action to Stop Dumping of Fukushima Daiichi Radioactive Water

Korean government’s review is nothing but relying on the naive faith that TEPCO will do well despite its repeated disguising the facts.

The Korean government announced today that as a result of reviewing the Fukushima contaminated water treatment plan, it has been confirmed that it meets international standards such as the IAEA. 

However, looking at the contents, we do not know what kind of verification was conducted directly, as the word ‘scientific and technological review’ is put to shame. As revealed in the problem of the IAEA final report, there are few contents verified and evaluated with our safety perspective other than the data presented by the Japanese government and TEPCO. It is questionable what kind of verification was performed other than showing the data provided by TEPCO.

Although there are other alternatives besides ocean dumping of contaminated water, the Korean government has not included them in the evaluation and review. In April 2021, the Korean Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) asked the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority(NRA) whether it would “examine whether the marine disposal is better than other alternatives such as long-term storage and ground injection.” Regarding this, the Japanese NRA answered that ocean discharge is the most feasible method through various reviews. However, the Korean NSSC is not presenting any evaluation or review on the Japanese NRA’s answer from Korean point of view.

The Korean government even sent an inspection team, but the ALPS performance was not properly verified. With only some of the results presented by TEPCO, how can it be scientifically proven that it will meet performance in the purification process of all contaminated water? Each tank of contaminated water has different components and concentrations, and considering uncertain and complex situations, such as the decommissioning process of Fukushima Daiichi plant and more contaminated water from it, it will be more difficult to be confirmed with purifying the waste water. Korean government’s review is nothing but relying on the naive faith that TEPCO will do well. Can TEPCO, which has repeatedly lied and covered up after the Fukushima accident, be trusted?

The Korean government announced that the impact on our waters is insignificant. However, it can only be said that this is a hasty conclusion based only on TEPCO's plans and data. Our government must approach this issue from the perspective of protecting the safety of the people, our seas, and the Pacific Ocean, a common asset of mankind. 

TEPCO and the Japanese government, which have already caused radioactive contamination beyond the standard since the Fukushima accident, cannot be justified for any reason for irresponsibly polluting the sea again. 

We firmly oppose the Korean government entrusting our seas and safety to the Japanese government and TEPCO.

July 07, 2023

Peoples' Action to Stop Dumping of Fukushima Daiichi Radioactive Water