Fukushima waste water released into Pacific: It's safe, says data but caution advised

Japan has initiated the process of releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, a move that has sparked international concern and protests.

This comes 12 years after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that led to a nuclear meltdown at the facility, triggering a shutdown.

Despite the controversy, the United Nations' atomic regulator has assured that the water will have a "negligible" radiological impact on both people and the environment.

The Japanese government and scientific organisations have also asserted that the water is safe, having been filtered to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen.

Due to the difficulty in separating tritium from water, the water from Fukushima is diluted until tritium levels fall below regulatory limits.

Recent tests conducted by Japan's environment ministry on seawater near the Fukushima plant have not detected any radioactivity. The ministry stated that the concentrations of tritium were below the lower limit of detection, indicating no adverse impact on human health or the environment.

The ministry plans to publish test results every week for at least the next three months to maintain transparency.

Japan's fisheries agency said tests of fish from near the plant did not show any abnormalities. Its test found no detectable levels of tritium.

However, the decision to release the water has not been without backlash. China has imposed an immediate blanket ban on all aquatic products from Japan due to concerns about potential radioactive contamination.

China reiterated its firm opposition to the plan and said the Japanese government had not proved that the water discharged would be safe.

Protests have also erupted in Japan and South Korea, with many expressing fears over the potential environmental impact.

Experts have also pointed that the data indicates that the water is safe, however, they do suggest caution. Physicist David Bailey, who runs a French laboratory measuring radioactivity told BBC that the key thing is how much tritium is there. "At such levels, there is no issue with marine species, unless we see a severe decline in fish population, for instance."

The US National Association of Marine Laboratories released a statement in December 2022 saying it was not convinced by Japan's data.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which operates the Fukushima plant, is currently storing about 1.3 million tonnes of contaminated water on-site. The release of the first 7,800 cubic meters of this water is expected to take around 17 days, while the complete discharge could span up to 30 years.

Despite assurances from experts that the treated water is safe enough to drink, some scientists argue that the long-term impact of releasing the water cannot be accurately predicted.