The Facts
On Wednesday, Japan began its final inspections on a system that will release treated radioactive water currently contained at the shuttered Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
On March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi plant's cooling systems were decimated by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami, causing a meltdown of three reactors and a significant release of radiation. The water used to cool the reactors has since been stored in onsite tanks which are expected to max out capacity in early 2024.
The Spin
Narrative A
China, South Korea, and several Pacific Island nations are right to be outraged at this planned release. This toxic water will impact the fishing industry and, more importantly, the marine environment as a whole. Japan should not be allowed to make this decision in isolation, and nothing short of full consultation and agreement between all the countries involved should be required to move forward. This grossly negligent and unfortunate plan cannot be authorized until everyone has had their voices heard.
Narrative B
Japan has painstakingly planned the slow release of treated water from Fukushima over a 30-year period. Experts remain positive in their belief that contamination of the marine environment will be negligible when compared to the risk of another one-two punch from earthquake and tsunami to the onsite storage tanks. TEPCO has provided assurance that this measure is safe and that the impact will be no more significant than the marine releases made annually by both the Heysham and Sellafield nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom.
