Pacific civil society groups are calling on Japan to halt its plans to dump radioactive nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.
Earlier this month the Japanese government started building facilities needed for the discharge of treated, but still radioactive, wastewater from the defunct Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Photo: AFP
In a joint statement, civil society groups, non-governmental organisations and activists described the Fumio Kishida Government's plans as a fundamental breach of Pacific peoples' right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
Joey Tau from the pan-Pacific movement Youngsolwara Pacific said this breaches Pacific peoples' rights to live in a clean environment.
Tau told Pacific Waves the Pacific Ocean is already endangered and Japan's plan will have devastating impacts.
"We have a nuclear testing legacy in the Pacific. That continues to impact our people, our islands and our way of life, and it impacts the health of our people.
"Having this plan by Japan poses greater risks to the ocean which is already in a declining state.
"The health of our ocean has declined due to human endured stresses and having this could aggravate the current state of our region.
"And also, there are possible threats on the lives of our people as we clearly understand in this part of the world, the ocean is dear to us, it sustains us," Tau said.
Listen to Joey Tau on Pacific Waves
Tau said both the opposition in Vanuatu and the president of the Federated States of Micronesia have expressed serious concerns at Japan's plans, and the Pacific Islands Secretariat this year has appointed an international expert panel to advise the Forum Secretary-General and national leaders.
The Northern Marianas' House of Representatives has also condemned Japan's plan to dump the nuclear waste.
Tau said the plans should not proceed without the Pacific people being able to voice their concerns and being better advised.
Water 'meets regulatory requirements'
The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said the discharges meet regulatory requirements.
"Inside the reactors of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Units 1-3, there is fuel that melted and solidified during the accident (fuel debris). This fuel debris is being kept cool by continuously spraying it with water, but when this water comes in contact with the fuel debris, it is exposed to the highly concentrated radioactive materials and becomes 'contaminated water'," a spokesperson said.
"This 'contaminated water' is being treated/purified to reduce the concentrations of radioactive materials using multiple types of equipment, such as Multi-nuclide Removal Equipment (ALPS), and it is stored in tanks on site as 'ALPS treated water, etc'.
"The 'ALPS treated water' from which radioactive nuclides has been removed using ALPS until the radionuclide concentration is at a sufficiently low concentration, will be diluted with seawater and discharged into the sea after confirming that the water meets the regulatory requirements (water with the sum of ratios to regulatory concentration, excluding tritium, less than 1)."