FUKUSHIMA WASTEWATER

1. Context

Japan is expected to start flushing 1.25 million tonnes of wastewater from the embattled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean this year, as part of a $76billion project to decommission the facility. The project received the Japanese cabinet’s approval in 2021 and could take three decades to complete.

2. Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant is located in the town of Okuma, Japan. The reactor is located on the country’s east coast. It is about 220 km northeast of the capital Tokyo.
The 2011 Earthquake, destroyed the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant’s electricity and cooling capacity. Since then, Japan is struggling with the piling-up of contaminated water from nuclear plants.

Image Source: Hindu

3. Why this wastewater is a problem?

In March 2011, after an earthquake of 9 magnitudes, a tsunami flooded the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma and damaged its diesel generators. The loss of power suspended the coolant supply to reactors at the facility; the tsunami also disabled backup systems.
Soon, radioactive materials leaked from reactor pressure vessels exploded in the facility’s upper levels and exposed themselves to the ambient air, water, soil, and local population.
Winds also carried radioactive material thrown up into the air into the Pacific. Since then, the power plant and its surrounding land have been uninhabitable.
The water that the Japanese government wants to flush from the plant was used to cool the reactors, rainwater, and groundwater. It contains radioactive isotopes from the damaged reactors and is thus itself radioactive.
Japan has said that it will release this water into the Pacific Ocean over the next 30 years.

4. How is Japan treating the Fukushima Radioactive water?

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which operates the Fukushima facility, has said that it has treated the water to remove most radioactive isotopes.
Japan is using an extensive pumping and filtration system known as “ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System)”.
The ALPS process is used to extract tonnes of newly radioactive water each day. Further, it also filters out most radioactive elements.
The ALPS process removes most of the radioactive isotopes. It will make the nuclear content in water levels lower than the international safety guidelines for nuclear plant wastewater.
However, it cannot remove some radioactive isotopes. Such as tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen.

5. Japan's other options

Some have asked why the Japanese government can’t store the water for longer and then discharge it.
This is because tritium’s halflife- the time it takes for its quantity to be halved through radioactive decay is 12-13 years.
The quantity of any other radioactive isotopes present in the water will also decrease at this time (each isotope has its halflife). So, at the time of discharge, the water could be less radioactive.
The Japanese government has also declared land around the Fukushima facility to be uninhabitable. The thousand or so tanks to hold the water, each with a capacity of a 1,000-meter cube, can be situated here.
But in 2020, authorities determined that flushing the water would be the way forward, over storage and vapourization.

6. Release of Fukushima Radioactive water

Japan is planning to release contaminated water containing tritium into the ocean.
Tritium is considered to be relatively harmless because it does not emit enough energy to penetrate human skin. But when ingested tritium can create cancer risks.
There are concerns about the water body as well as the region. China, South Korea, and Taiwan have expressed concerns over Japan’s plan.
Researchers have also called for more studies to understand the precise composition of each tank before it is flushed and for more details about the TEPCO’s water treatment process.

7. Concerns about the release of radioactive water

Some scientists have pointed out that the long-term effects on marine life are unknown. Especially a low-dose exposure to such large amounts of material like tritium.
Further, the experts also point out the ill effects of the radioactive isotope Strontium 90. Strontium released in the ocean can start to concentrate in the bones of both fish and humans. Thereby increasing cancer risks.

For Prelims

For Prelims: Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), radioactive isotopes, tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, and the Pacific Ocean.

Source: The Hindu

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