Is the water safe in Fukushima?: At least that’s what the Japanese prime minister thinks while eating fish

As a demonstration that Fukushima waterswhere nuclear power plant waste began to be dumped, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, along with three ministers, tasted the only sashimi and other products from the region.

“Very good,” Kishida says to the camera after a bite of sashimi, urging them to eat this Japanese seafood.safe and tasty“.

Japan started last week discharge of water from damaged reactors of the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean-Daichi, in northeastern Japan, due to the 2011 tsunami.

Are the waters of Fukushima safe?

After undergoing a filtration process, the cooling water, considered harmless, will be discharged into the Pacific Ocean through a kilometer-long tunnel. Highly radioactive waste will remain on land. The spill is expected to last 30 years. Highly radioactive remains remain on land. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the impact on people and the environment is “not significant”.

Before being discharged, both cooling water and contaminated groundwater are subjected to a filtration process using an advanced fluid handling system known as ALPS (Advanced Fluid Handling System). This system is capable of filtering 62 radionuclides, with the exception of the radioactive tritium isotope. In this regard, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) intends to dilute the water to a tritium concentration of about 1,500 becquerels per liter, which is less than one fortieth of the national safety standard. If the levels exceed the threshold after the filtration process, the cleaning process will be repeated, according to Tepco.

The residual tritium is an isotope of hydrogen. Despite its radioactivity, its potential hazard is significantly less than that of caesium 137 or strontium 90. Since tritium emits moderate beta radiation, a simple sheet of plastic or human skin can dampen most of the radiation.

According to radioecologist Prof. Dr. Georg Steinhauser, dumping it into the sea is the most appropriate option. “Those who are concerned about tritium are not well informed. Tritium poses no danger to humans and the environment if it slowly dissolves into the sea.”