Protesters assembled in South Korea’s capital on Saturday, urging the government to take preventive measures against what they perceive as an impending crisis stemming from Japan’s release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Japan initiated the discharge of water from the plant located north of Tokyo into the sea on Thursday, a move met with objections from both domestic and international fishing communities and others concerned about its environmental repercussions.
Choi Kyoungsook, representing the Korea Radiation Watch group that organized the rally, stated, “We may not immediately witness disasters such as the detection of radioactive substances in seafood, but it appears inevitable that this release could jeopardize the local fishing industry, and the government must propose solutions.”
Approximately 50,000 individuals participated in the protest, according to the event’s organizers.
Japan and scientific institutions assert that the water, which has been distilled after coming into contact with fuel rods during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed the reactor, is safe. Tokyo Electric Power, the utility responsible for the plant, has been purifying the water to eliminate isotopes, leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is challenging to separate.
Japan’s fisheries agency reported on Saturday that fish tested in the waters surrounding the plant did not exhibit detectable levels of tritium, as per Kyodo news service.
South Korea has stated that it does not see any scientific issues with the water discharge, but environmental activists contend that not all potential impacts have been thoroughly examined.
Japan maintains that it must begin releasing the water because storage tanks containing approximately 1.3 million metric tons of it—equivalent to filling 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools—are at capacity.
The initial discharge, comprising 7,800 cubic meters (about three Olympic pools’ worth), will be carried out over approximately 17 days.
