As I wrote in “Japan’s efforts for Safety, Health and Environment,” an OP-ED article, which was published on Daily Times on April 7th (https://dailytimes.com.pk/1081739/japans-efforts-for-safety-health-and-environment), ALPS treated water to be discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is safe based on scientific evidence,” wrote Mr ITO Takeshi, Minister/Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan in Pakistan, in a letter to Daily Times, in response to its editorial “Japanese Water” on September 5th.
“The concentration of tritium in the discharged water will be 1/40 of the regulatory standard and 1/7 of the WHO drinking water standard, and the concentration of radioactive materials other than tritium will be less than 1/100 of the regulatory standards,” the letter read. “I do not intend to go further into facts and science here, as I already detailed on these aspects in my article above, and as Daily Times’ editorial confess that it cannot deny the fact that science supports Japan. One important fact, which the editorial failed to mention despite the emphasis given in my article published by the paper, is that nuclear power stations all over the world regularly discharge tritium into the sea,” it added. These statements were made prior to the discharge, but they continue to be proven based on the scientific evidence even after August 24, 2023, the day of the discharge began.
In addition, “For example, the annual amount of tritium discharged from the Qinshan Nuclear Power Station, the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station, and the Ningde Nuclear Power Station in China, is approximately 218TBq, 112TBq, and 102TBq respectively. These amounts meet international standards set by the IAEA and, as far as I know, have never caused any problems. The planned annual amount of tritium to be discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is less than 22 TBq, which is smaller by far than those from any nuclear power stations in China,” Mr ITO Takeshi wrote in the letter.
“While the editorial acknowledges that it cannot deny that science supports Japan’s position, Daily Times’ main point is “the Japanese government made this decision without thorough consultations.” As I have already detailed with numerous facts and evidence in the Op-Ed on April 7th Japan has made strenuous efforts over the years to engage in intensive communication with international community with high transparency, providing countries, the IAEA and other stakeholders with information, data and scientific evidence,” read the letter. “In fact, on July 4, 2023, the IAEA published its Comprehensive Report, in which the IAEA concluded that (i) the approach to the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea and associated activities of Japan are consistent with relevant international safety standards, (ii) the radiological impact on humans and the environment is negligible. In this Comprehensive Report, the IAEA positively assessed the efforts Japan has made to provide information to and engaged in consultations with the interested parties, including both international and domestic ones, and to conduct significant outreach activities to ensure transparency. It is also worth noting that the IAEA Taskforce, whose thorough study on Japan’s activities and plans gave an important basis of the Comprehensive Report, includes international experts from 11 countries, out of which 9 are Pacific coastal states, including China,” it added.
“Furthermore, since the start of discharge of the treated water, not only Japan but also IAEA has been conducting monitoring of the water of the sea area, and the results have been published immediately. The monitoring results by Japan and IAEA so far have confirmed that the discharge is proceeding safely as planned. Japan will continue to monitor the sea water with IAEA and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of the water discharge so that it would not have any harmful effects on human health and environment,” Mr ITO Takeshi wrote in the letter.
He also mentioned to “Japan’s Irresponsible Behavior to Harm Whole planet: China,” an article distributed by ABC and published by Daily Times on August 25th. The letter called it “truly disappointing,” that the article”which is only a lengthy verbatim quote from spokesperson of China, whose nuclear power stations have been regularly discharging several times more tritium into the ocean,” was published, while the paper did not “report the conclusion of the IAEA, the international authoritative body in the field of nuclear safety.”
Further information on ALPS treated water and Japan’s plan and activities on this matter can be obtained from: https://www.mofa.go.jp/dns/inec/alps.html.
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