LONDON, July 4 (Xinhua) — Among the two.3 million individuals who stay within the Pacific Islands and depend on the ocean for meals and revenue, many maintain issues over Japan’s plans to launch greater than 1 million metric tonnes of handled radioactive wastewater into the ocean, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
The water was largely used to chill reactors after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that led to meltdowns in three of its reactors, on the planet’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl 25 years earlier, it stated.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the height intergovernmental group representing the area, has been consulting with Japan over the discharge for the previous two years and in January stated it had “grave concerns” over the plans, the report stated.
Last month the PIF issued an announcement drawing consideration to worldwide legal guidelines in opposition to dumping nuclear waste within the Pacific Ocean, The Guardian stated.
“Our people do not have anything to gain from Japan’s plan but have much at risk for generations to come,” The Guardian quoted PIF Secretary General Henry Puna as saying.