在线国产一区二区_成人黄色片在线观看_国产成人免费_日韩精品免费在线视频_亚洲精品美女久久_欧美一级免费在线观看

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Opinion
Home / Opinion / Op-Ed Contributors

Stronger global monitoring for Japan's toxic water release

By Jin Ying | China Daily Global | Updated: 2024-03-13 07:59
Share
Share - WeChat
Dozens of Japanese citizens from multiple civic groups attend a rally in Tokyo on Wednesday, demanding the Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, to immediately halt the ocean discharge of nuclear-contaminated water. [Photo by Jiang Xueqing/chinadaily.com.cn]

The Japanese government recently announced that International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi has been invited to visit Japan from Tuesday to Thursday. The invitation raises many questions because the Japanese government has been discharging the nuclear-contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean by claiming it had got the "green light" to do so from the IAEA.

Despite the opposition from neighboring countries and the international community as a whole, Japan has proceeded with its discharge plan, and has already released 23,000 tons of contaminated water into the ocean. Japan's plan for fiscal year 2024 includes releasing another seven rounds of the radioactive water, totaling about 54,600 tons. This decision has ignited a debate on the complex composition of the contaminated water, the limitations of the purification process, and the potential risks it poses to the marine environment and human health.

The nuclear-contaminated water contains more than 200 types of radioactive nuclides, all of which cannot be removed, as Japan's advanced liquid processing system (ALPS) is designed to remove only 62 types of these nuclides. Worse, the ALPS has not been effective in removing even those 62 types of nuclides from the radioactive water.

About 70 percent of the water treated by the ALPS still does not meet the discharge standards, as it retains radioactive nuclides such as carbon-14, iodine-129, cesium-137 and strontium-90. This raises concerns about the safety of discharging the nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, especially given its potential impact on marine ecosystems and human health.

By discharging the contaminated water into the ocean, Japan has not only violated international radiation protection norms and the 1972 London Dumping Convention but also failed to fulfill its global obligations to protect and preserve the marine environment. The potential impact of this decision extends beyond Japan's borders, violating the principles of international cooperation and environmental protection, and affecting the global community.

Moreover, the discharge of the radioactive water presents economic and scientific challenges. While it is commonly believed to be the least expensive disposal method, Japan's decision overlooks the need for huge amounts of resources by front-end operations to, for example, curb the use of underground water and facilitate the treatment of the contaminated water by the ALPS.

Additionally, the associated costs of addressing secondary crises and compensating the affected stakeholders have far exceeded initial estimates, highlighting the financial burden of this approach. For instance, Japan initially estimated the cost of discharging the radioactive water to be 3.4 billion yen ($23 million). However, as of now, the related expenses have exceeded 129 billion yen, with further escalations expected in the future.

The decision to discharge the contaminated water into the ocean is not scientific. But the Japanese government claims that discharging the contaminated water into the ocean is necessary to clear space for the decommissioning work at the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

However, by claiming the release of the contaminated water into the ocean is a "preparatory step" for decommissioning, Japan has not only revealed its simplistic linear mindset but also prompted the international community to question its real intentions, especially given the unknown timeline and feasibility of the decommissioning process. True, the disposal of nuclear-contaminated water is intertwined with the decommissioning of the reactor and the post-accident cleanup, but a comprehensive systemic approach should be adopted to do so.

The international community has responded to Japan's release of the contaminated water by advocating stricter monitoring and regulatory requirements. But the existing monitoring arrangements have limitations, including unreasonable dilution, lack of transparency, and insufficient international review and monitoring. To address these shortcomings, the IAEA should play its due role of reviewing Japan's actions and establishing a long-term international cooperation mechanism for monitoring the developments.

The discharge of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water is a matter of global nuclear safety and marine ecological protection. As a crucial intergovernmental organization managing nuclear affairs, the IAEA should play a more proactive and constructive role in strictly supervising Japan's actions and establishing a global cooperation mechanism for monitoring the radioactive water. And some key criteria must be met to make this mechanism successful.

To begin with, it is essential to define the objectives and primary principles of international monitoring cooperation, which is to minimize the negative impacts of the radioactive water discharge into the ocean on humans and the environment, with the primary principle being risk prevention in order to better protect the environment protection and human rights. Institutions should view the discharge of the radioactive water from a comprehensive and strategic perspective, and continuously review and evaluate the suitability of the disposal method.

Also, to ensure the objectivity and fairness of the monitoring process and results, the participation of other countries, especially Japan's neighbors and the Pacific island nations, should be considered while appointing monitoring inspectors and other monitoring personnel, based on nationality, region, profession and other factors.

Besides, the disposal of the nuclear-contaminated water into the sea and the post-accident cleanup are a long-term endeavor. Therefore, institutions should formulate detailed monitoring plans, including specific issues such as the types of isotopes to be monitored, the frequency and scope of the radioactive water release, reporting on the developments and other pertinent details, based on thorough discussions at experts' meetings. This will ensure the credibility and authoritative status of the international cooperation mechanism for monitoring the nuclear-contaminated water, including its release into the ocean.

The author is a research fellow at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲国产视频精品 | 午夜免费一区二区播放 | 日韩城人免费 | 亚洲高清欧美 | 欧美视频一区 | a亚洲精品 | 日本在线观看网站 | 国内精品视频一区二区三区 | 在线看片日韩 | 在线免费看黄网站 | 日本www在线观看 | 国产网站在线 | 亚洲第一页中文字幕 | 国产精品婷婷久久久久 | 在线看av的网址 | 成人看的羞羞视频免费观看 | 日韩欧美色图 | 久久久久一区 | 精品一区二区三区四区五区 | 欧美精品亚洲 | 国产成人精品一区二区三区视频 | 日韩欧美一区二区在线观看 | 羞羞视频在线观看入口 | 91精品久久久久久久 | 丁香午夜 | 8×8x拔擦拔擦在线视频网站 | 久久久国产精品入口麻豆 | www.麻豆视频 | 亚洲欧美日韩另类一区二区 | 在线看免费观看日本 | 日韩二三区 | 黑人巨大精品欧美黑白配亚洲 | 日本午夜在线 | 国产精品美女 | 日韩一区二区三区四区五区六区 | 不卡在线视频 | 国产综合精品一区二区三区 | 亚洲高清在线观看 | 青草青草久热精品视频在线观看 | 精品视频 | 98精品国产高清在线xxxx天堂 |