Radioactive discharge from Fukushima nuclear plant raising concerns on California coast.

CBS News, BY ANNE MAKOVEC, MOLLY MCCREA, SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

A controversial plan to release more than one million tons of treated radioactive water into the sea is now underway in Japan, giving scientists here in the Bay Area pause as well as those who seek escape on the open water. 

Near Fort Cronkhite in the Marin Headlands recently, surfer Jason Gittens contemplated what is means to be able to enjoy the open oceans. For him, the Pacific Ocean is a treasure………………..

……………………………………………………………….. Recently, protestors have gathered in Tokyo and in parts of South Korea. They oppose Japan’s release of more than a million tons of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean which started on August 24.

Soon after, China announced a ban on all imported Japanese fish because of the release.

That prompted the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, to go shopping for Fukushima fish in a supermarket and to chow down sushi to show support for Japan in front of the news media……………………………………………

The damaged reactors are still hot. There is a massive amount of melted nuclear fuel and fuel debris inside them and they require constant cooling.

‘Water was used to cool the reactors and it is still needed to cool the reactors,” explained UC Berkeley nuclear engineering professor Dr. Kal Vetter. The water used for cooling turns radioactive. …………………

The water is cooling the molten cores of the Fukushima reactors from the time of the accident,” said Dr. Arjun Makhijani. “It’s coming into direct contact with highly radioactive fission products and plutonium. So that’s why the water gets extremely radioactive.”

Makhijani is a nuclear fusion expert and president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER).

In addition to the cooling water that is pumped inside, groundwater has seeped into the site, and rainwater has fallen on the damaged reactors and turbines. All this water is now contaminated with radioactivity. The tainted water is collected, filtered, and stored on-site in specially prepared tanks.

……………………………….The discharging of the radioactive waters will take at least 30 years and will be controlled and monitored not just by Japanese officials, but by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “The monitoring remains critical,” advised Vetter,…………………………………

 Makhijani and Dalnoki-Veress remain concerned. Both belong to a panel of experts representing the Pacific Islands Forum. The panel consulted with Japan over its intentions to release treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean and found the decision to release “regrettable.”

“There’s a lot of things that can go wrong,” said Dalnoki-Veress.

Tritiated water remains a concern for the panel. Makhijani recently wrote the book “Exploring Tritium’s Danger,” which challenges many long-held beliefs about the radioactive substance. He maintains that the impacts of tritium on human health, especially when taken into the body, warrant much more attention. 

Makhijani told CBS News Bay Area that in addition to the discharges, we all must pay more attention to what else we’re putting into the oceans.

“Because it’s not just this dumping,’ he said. “The oceans are under extreme stress. They’re under heat stress. They’re under acid stress, they’re under plastic stress.”

The oceans cover 72% of the earth and supplies half its oxygen. They also absorb 50 times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere.

A recent poll conducted by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and Consortium on the Ocean’s Role in Climate found Americans care deeply about the ocean and that the majority worry about how climate change is impacting the ocean’s health.

………………………………”We used to think in the old days, “Out of sight, out of mind.” And they just dump stuff in the ocean,” said Gittens. “Well, now it’s not so out-of-sight, and going forward, I worry about my kids. Are they going to enjoy the ocean as much as I do?”  https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/radioactive-discharge-from-fukushima-nuclear-plant-raising-concerns-on-california-coast/

September 17, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | oceans, USA