Here’s How Radioactive Fukushima Nuclear Plant’s Wastewater Is

The Japanese government announced on Tuesday its plan to release more than 1.25 million tons of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea.

The treated water will contain tritium, a radioactive isotope of the element hydrogen. The plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, used the water to cool the plant after it suffered a meltdown in the aftermath of a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

But as the 1,000 tanks storing the treated wastewater are expected to run out of capacity by the fall of next year, Japan has decided to release it into the Pacific Ocean over decades, despite opposition from neighboring countries including South Korea and China, as well as the local fishing industry. The discharge will take two years to prepare, officials have said.

Japan has insisted that the concentration of tritium in the treated solution will be so low that it is harmless to people even before it is diluted by the world’s largest and deepest ocean.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has backed Japan’s decision, saying that the discharge will pose no health or environmental risks after reviewing the Fukushima power plant.

James Conca, an American environmental scientist specializing in the disposal of nuclear waste, called the radiation levels of the treated wastewater “trivial.”

“The radiation dose from one quart of this water is equal to four bananas or a family-sized bag of potato chips. A ton of this water gives a dose of approximately 4 mSv, about the average annual background dose to everyone in America, and less than a single chest CT scan which is 7 mSv,” he wrote in Forbes.

The average dose of natural radiation for a Japanese resident is 2.1 mSv, according to Japan’s Ministry of Environment. 

But those who oppose the dumping believe tritium is dangerous, claiming its release into the ocean would have an impact on marine life and public health.  

China has called on Japan to reconsider its plan to release this water. “Japan has not exhausted safe disposal methods, regardless of domestic and foreign questions and opposition,” a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said Tuesday. 

South Korea similarly expressed “strong regret over the Japanese government's decision,” Yonhap News Agency reported. 

Tritium is the only radioactive isotope of hydrogen. Like hydrogen, it reacts with oxygen to produce water, also known as tritiated water. It’s produced naturally in the upper atmosphere, but can also be made by humans, such as in nuclear reactors and weapons. The element is commonly used in glow-in-the-dark lighting. 

Research has suggested that tritium is carcinogenic at extremely high levels – as high as 37,000,000 Bq/L. In comparison, tritium in the Fukushima plant’s wastewater will be diluted to 60,000 Bq/L before being released. 

Humans are exposed to small doses of tritium every day in drinking water and the air. 

Fear of nuclear contamination following the 2011 Fukushima disaster has hurt the export of food from the prefecture.

China is one of at least four countries that have imposed strict regulations on imports of Fukushima food, according to prefectural authorities. The United States, which also supported Japan’s decision to release the treated wastewater into the ocean, has continued monitoring agricultural products from Fukushima including milk, vegetables, and rice for contamination. 

Regardless of whether the discharge will have an harmful effect on people or marine life, Fukushima’s fishermen are protesting the government’s decision, fearing that the release could tarnish their fishing products’ reputation.

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