Japan plans to dump treated water from Fukushima disaster into the ocean

Japanese officials plan to release more than 264 million gallons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean over a period of decades as part of efforts to dispose of waste resulting from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

A report from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry obtained by Bloomberg indicated that the first release of water would take place in roughly two years, with the water being processed to remove all radioactive elements except for tritium and engineers working to dilute it before it is released.

The report prompted statements from China’s and South Korea’s governments, the latter of which firmly condemned the idea, while Beijing urged Japan to deal with the issue prudently, according to Bloomberg.

“Disposing of the treated water is an unavoidable issue for decommissioning the Fukushima nuclear power plant,” said Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, according to Bloomberg.

Just more than 10 years ago, the Fukushima nuclear plant experienced a meltdown resulting from an earthquake and an ensuing tsunami that heavily damaged the facility, which led to large amounts of radiation being released into the surrounding area and Pacific Ocean.

In 2012, a Japanese commission found that the company responsible for overseeing the plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, had failed to prepare for damage containment and had not developed proper evacuation procedures for employees.

Environmental groups have warned against plans to release more radioactive water into the ocean, while local fishing groups are also opposed to the idea, Bloomberg reported.