Deep distrust reason behind public anxiety

Consequences of Japan's toxic water release plan hard to verify, expert says

The deep-seated distrust of the Japanese government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, is behind public anxiety sparked by the plans to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, said politicians and experts.

"TEPCO's long concealment of the fact that many nuclides exceeding the specified value could not be removed has resulted in a significant loss of credibility," said a statement issued by the Social Democratic Party national federation and the Social Democratic Party Fukushima prefectural federation in July.

The hydrogen and nuclear explosions at the Fukushima nuclear power plant caused an unprecedented core meltdown, and all kinds of nuclides, concrete, etc., were mixed together with groundwater and cooling water, and became a large amount of nuclear-contaminated water, the federations noted.

"It must be considered fundamentally different from radioactive emissions from existing nuclear power plants under controlled conditions. In fact, there are more than 60 nuclides in contaminated water," the statement said.

Japanese and foreign experts have proposed various alternatives for the disposal of contaminated water. There are various realistic proposals other than ocean discharge, such as concrete solidification and giant tank proposals. In addition, TEPCO has a site where additional tanks will be installed, according to the statement.

"There is no need to rush to release contaminated water now, and we should spend more time seriously considering alternatives," said the federations.

Rather than obtaining understanding after experts narrow down options and decide on a disposal policy, it would have been easier to gain understanding by engaging in dialogue with a diverse group of local residents, experts and the government right from the stage of considering a wide range of options, said Shunji Matsuoka, professor of the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies at Waseda University.

Matsuoka told The Asahi Shimbun, a daily newspaper in Japan, there are scientifically reasonable methods other than ocean discharge. Evaporating the liquid through atmospheric release, which has been proven effective overseas, is also scientifically reasonable.

He said the difficulty in gaining understanding and acceptance is due to the lack of involvement of fishermen and Fukushima residents in considering such alternative options.

Zhang Yulai, vice-president of the Japan Institute of Nankai University, said there is no precedent in human history for the large-scale release of nuclear-contaminated water resulting from a nuclear accident, and there is significant controversy surrounding its safety and scientific implications. The butterfly effects and unknown consequences of the discharge plan are difficult to verify with current technologies, he added.

Integrity issues

"As the main party involved in the Fukushima nuclear accident, Tokyo Electric Power Company has a history of integrity issues and has been plagued with numerous problems since the accident on March 11, 2011. In addition, the credibility of the Japanese government has rapidly declined in recent years," Zhang said.

Compared to methods such as injection into the ground, evaporation into the atmosphere, and solidification and burial, discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the sea is the most convenient option at the lowest cost, Zhang said.

"However, in the long run, it will become the biggest liability for the Japanese government and TEPCO.The best solution to alleviate people's anxiety is to explore better alternatives instead of merely opting for the easiest way out."

In accordance with the principles of being responsible for the global environment and safeguarding the common interests of all humanity, Japan should abandon the idea of solely discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the sea and actively explore other options. To do so, the Japanese government should openly share relevant information and adopt a more transparent, fair and scientific approach, even considering cooperation with other countries to collectively resolve this issue, he said.

Naoya Sekiya, associate professor at the Center for Integrated Disaster Information Research, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, the University of Tokyo, conducted two surveys in 2017 and 2022, involving 3,000 people from 10 countries and regions, including Japan, China and South Korea, to investigate their nuclear disaster awareness.

The survey found that in 2022, approximately 80 percent of respondents in South Korea and nearly 60 percent in China felt uneasy about seafood products originating from Fukushima Prefecture.

The lack of sufficient information dissemination by the Japanese government has been a significant contributing factor to public anxiety. The government should have been more proactive in sharing information, especially with neighboring countries where strong anxiety persists, Sekiya told The Asahi Shimbun.

jiangxueqing@chinadaily.com.cn