On Thursday, brushing aside opposition from its neighbours, Japan will release treated radioactive water from the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean if weather and marine conditions are fit.
According to Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings (TEPCO), the water used to cool radioactive debris trapped inside the facility is being stored at the site in over 1,000 tanks that are now almost full. The water was used to cool down the reactors after the earthquake triggered meltdown and is enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The water will be released over 30 years after being filtered and diluted. As for the filering process, Tepco will remove all the radioactive elements from the water usings advanced liquid processing system (Alps), except tritium, an isotope of hydrogen.
The tritium levels will be brought down to the below regulatory limits by diluting it with water before pumping it into the ocean. It will take about two days from Tuesday for the operator to dilute the water to bring down tritium to below government-mandated standards.
Tritium is considered to be harmless and is routinely released from nuclear plants around the world. Its radiation is not energetic enough to penetrate human skin but when ingested can raise cancer risks, a Scientific American article said in 2014.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a United Nations body, said the water release plan would have "negligible" radiation effects on humans and the environment. IAEA staff are reportedly working with Japanese authorities to "ensure that they [the discharge] continue to be consistent with the safety standards."
However, organisations like Greenpeace believe the radiological risks have not been fully assessed and that the biological impacts of tritium, carbon-14, strontium-90 and iodine-129 ‘have been ignored’.
Protests are brewing inside the country and among the neighbours with China accusing Japan of treating the ocean like its "private sewer."
In response to Tuesday's announcement, Hong Kong said it would "immediately activate" import curbs on some Japanese food products. Both South Korea and China have already banned fish imports from around Fukushima.