Grossi said Wednesday he is aware of the Chinese position and takes any concern seriously. If Japan insists on going ahead with the plan, it will have to bear all the consequences arising from this,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. “We once again urge the Japanese side to stop its ocean discharge plan, and earnestly dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a science-based, safe and transparent manner. Park Ku-yeon, first vice minister of South Korea’s Office for Government Policy Coordination, said Seoul plans to comment on the IAEA findings when it issues the results of the country’s own investigation into the potential effects of the water release, which he said will come soon.Ĭhina doubled down on its objections to the release in a statement late Tuesday, saying the IAEA report failed to reflect all views and accusing Japan of treating the Pacific Ocean as a sewer. They said South Korea plans to tightly screen seafood imported from Japan and that there is no immediate plan to lift the country’s import ban on seafood from the Fukushima region. In South Korea, officials said in a briefing Wednesday that it’s highly unlikely that the released water will have dangerous levels of contamination. In an effort to address concerns about fish and the marine environment, Grossi and Tomoaki Kobayakawa, president of the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, signed an agreement on a joint project to determine whether they are impacted by tritium, the only radionuclide officials say cannot be removed from the wastewater by treatment. He said his intention is to explain what the IAEA, not Japan, is doing to ensure there is no problem. Grossi is expected to also visit South Korea, New Zealand and the Cook Islands to ease concerns there. The fishery association chief, Tetsu Nozaki, urged government officials at Wednesday’s meeting “to remember that the treated water plan was pushed forward despite our opposition.” It is also opposed by groups in South Korea, China and some Pacific Island nations due to safety concerns and political reasons.įukushima’s fisheries association adopted a resolution on June 30 reaffirming its rejection of the plan. Local fishing organizations have rejected the plan because they worry their reputation will be damaged even if their catch isn’t contaminated. He said he inaugurated a permanent IAEA office at the plant, showing its long-term commitment. The wastewater release still faces opposition in and outside Japan.Įarlier Wednesday, Grossi met with local mayors and fishing association leaders and stressed that the IAEA will be present throughout the water discharge, which is expected to last decades, to ensure safety and address residents’ concerns. “I was satisfied with what I saw,” Grossi said after his tour of equipment at the plant for the planned discharge, which Japan hopes to begin this summer. It will then be released 1 kilometer (1,000 yards) offshore through an undersea tunnel. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi observed where the treated water will be sent through a pipeline to a coastal facility, where it will be highly diluted with seawater and receive a final test sampling. atomic agency toured Japan’s tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Wednesday and said he is satisfied with still-contentious plans to release treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. FUTABA, Japan (AP) - The head of the U.N.
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