Multi-Nuclide Removal Equipment ALPS
On March 11, 2011, a powerful earthquake and tsunami in eastern Japan damaged power supplies at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, melting three reactors, thereby contaminating the water and groundwater used to cool the molten nuclear fuel with radionuclides. As a result, water has been needed continuously to cool molten fuel and fuel debris since the nuclear accident.Water treated at the Fukushima nuclear plant has been increasing by 90 tons a day. As of the end of June, 1.34 million tons had been filled in nearly 1,000 storage tanks. At present, 98 percent of the storage tanks in the facility are used. With this rate, the tanks will be fully filled between February and June 2024.
To resolve problems such as storage sites, after six years of research and evaluation by experts, the Japanese government announced in April 2021 that it would consider releasing water treated by the multi-nuclide removal equipment advanced liquid processing system (ALPS) into the sea.
In December 2021, the government published a specific action; it was revised in August 2022 and again in January 2023. From April 2021 to April 2023, the government held nine relevant cabinet meetings to specifically discuss the issue.
After two rounds of purification by ALPS, the vast majority of radioactive materials in the contaminated water had been removed (but some radioactive materials, such as tritium, are difficult to remove). The water treated by ALPS was then diluted with seawater more than 100 times. After that, the amount of tritium in the water was less than 1,500 becquerels per liter (radiation unit), less than 1/7 of the World Health Organization (WHO) standard for drinking water, and much less than 1/40 of the safe value set by Japan.
IAEA’s Review Results
At the request of the Japanese government, the International Atomic Energy Agency officials visited Japan from Feb. 14–18, 2022, to review the safety of water treated by ALPS at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.Six IAEA staff members, including Gustavo Caruso, director of the IAEA Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, and eight international experts from the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, South Korea, Vietnam, and Argentina, visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and reviewed the safety of water treated by ALPS at the nuclear power plant.
On June 2, the IAEA announced in Tokyo that the final review of ALPS treated water had been completed.
On July 4, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the IAEA, presented a report of the agency’s two-year review to the Japanese prime minister. The report concluded that the discharge of nuclear treated water in Japan meets international safety standards, and that its radiological effects on people and the environment can be ignored.
On July 7, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority submitted a certificate of equipment inspection to Tokyo Electric Power Company, indicating that the emissions facility has been adjusted and ready.
On July 8, Mr. Grossi confirmed with Yonhap News Agency that international experts involved in the investigation did not disagree on the nuclear power plant’s discharge review report. The verification team included one expert from China, meaning that the Chinese expert did not dispute the conclusion of the review.
Mr. Grossi also pointed out that the way to reduce concentration reemission through dilution is not special, that South Korea, China, the United States, and France all adopted this method before.
South Korea and Taiwan Approve, China Opposes
On July 7, the South Korean government said that having being diluted by seawater, the treated water will take four to five years to reach South Korean waters, and that from a scientific point of view, South Korean waters will hardly be affected by radiation such as tritium.The Taiwan government said it would pay close attention to the issue, stressing that due to ocean currents, most of the treated water will flow to the eastern Pacific Ocean and only a small part of it will flow into Taiwan waters, that it will only arrive a year or two later the fastest, and that it will have already been further diluted by the time.
However, at the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Chinese representative accused Japan of transferring the risk of nuclear pollution to all mankind.
On July 20, at a regular press conference, Mao Ning, the spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that China’s opposition to the Japanese plan to taint the sea was justified.
Since the IAEA submitted the inspection report and Japan decided to discharge the treated water, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has started to carry out 100 percent comprehensive testing of Japanese food imports. According to five Japanese companies based in China, the delayed customs clearance time has caused their seafood lose freshness and fail to be sold, triggering a loss of hundreds of millions of yen.
Why China Holds Japan Back
Some commentators criticized that Beijing’s rhetoric on protecting health and the marine environment is nothing but sophistry.“There is no problem with the conclusion of the verification by international organizations, and the so-called security issue is malicious propaganda and rumor-mongering,”reads a commentary by Sankei Shimbun, a daily newspaper in Japan.
“By turning a deaf ear to Japan’s request for discussions based on scientific evidence, Beijing is implicitly acknowledging the absurdity of its own claims. The CCP’s main focus is to contain Japan’s hardline stance on Taiwan’s situation, economy, and security.”
Independent writer Zhuge Mingyang believes that opposing Japan’s discharge of nuclear treated water is a chance for the CCP to clamp down, blackmail, and attack Japan.
“The U.S.-Japan-South Korea iron triangle against the CCP has already been formed, and it regards Taiwan as a strategic ally, strengthening its protection [of Taiwan],”he told The Epoch Times on July 2.
However, Mr. Zhuge is not optimistic about if the communist regime can have its wish fulfilled.
“Whether or not the CCP can get its way is another matter,”he said.
