Japan Urged to Expand Seafood Monitoring for Full Impact of Fukushima Nuclear Waste Water Release
Japan is being urged to expand its monitoring of seafood in order to assess the complete impact of the release of nuclear waste water from the Fukushima power plant. Professor Kenneth Leung Mei-yee, who chairs the Advisory Council on Food and Environmental Hygiene in Hong Kong, highlighted that the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has only provided a report on the levels of tritium in seawater samples, failing to include other radioactive materials and seabed sediments.
Leung emphasized that other radioactive substances, which were not identified in the tests, could adhere to materials that sank to the seabed and formed sediments over time. Eventually, the concentration of radiation levels would increase to a detectable amount in the deep-sea ground. He expressed concerns regarding the reliability of TEPCO’s unilateral data release and proposed that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conduct tests to provide independent verification.
TEPCO recently released a report stating that no detectable amount of tritium was found in seawater samples taken from 10 locations within a 3km radius of the nuclear plant. However, Leung pointed out that there are over 1,000 water tanks storing the radioactive waste water from the Fukushima disaster, amounting to more than 1 million metric tons of treated water. He believes that Japan might selectively release water from tanks that stored it for a shorter duration, as the liquid in tanks with longer storage times is significantly more contaminated and could overwhelm the current processing system for dilution.
Japan has pledged to continue taking daily seawater samples for analysis and will publicly disclose the results within a day for about a month. The Ministry of Environment of Japan has also committed to analyzing seawater samples weekly for approximately three months. However, Leung stressed the importance of long-term monitoring and suggested involving a third party like the IAEA to verify the reliability of the data provided by Japan.
Hong Kong, a major market for seafood imports from Japan, recently imposed a ban on aquatic products from 10 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima and Tokyo. Hong Kong Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Tse Chin-wan, stated that authorities are considering releasing the full details of their radioactivity test results on imported seafood from Japan and marine produce from local waters.
Hong Kong imported marine products from Japan worth about 51.6 billion yen in the first half of the year, accounting for a quarter of the country’s exports in the sector. The city’s decision to ban products from certain prefectures highlights the concern for public safety but also impacts the significant trade relationship between Hong Kong and Japan.
It remains essential for Japan to expand its monitoring efforts to include a broader range of radioactive substances and sediments in order to fully understand and address the impact of the Fukushima nuclear waste water release. International inspection and verification, such as by the IAEA, would provide valuable assurance and help restore public confidence in the data provided by TEPCO.
