Unveiling Fukushima's Contaminated Waters: A Complex Environmental Challenge

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan has been accumulating 1.25 million tonnes of contaminated water since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The daily buildup of contaminated water was reduced to 170 metric tonnes by 2020 thanks to groundwater isolation installations. TEPCO reports that 72% of the water in its tanks needed to be repurified. Some scientists expressed reservations due to potential bioaccumulation of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium, and plutonium, which sometimes slip through the ALPS process and were present in 71% of the tanks. The water is stored in massive tanks and Japan says that it needs the land occupied by the tanks to build new facilities to safely decommission the plant. Despite China slapping a ban on Japanese seafood and protests in Japan itself and South Korea, Japan has begun releasing treated radioactive water from its damaged Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan began being discharged into the Pacific Ocean on 11 March 2011

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan began discharging radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean on 11 March 2011, following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster triggered by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Three of the plant's reactors experienced meltdowns, leaving behind melted fuel debris. Water was introduced to prevent the meltdowns from progressing further. When cooling water, groundwater, and rain came into contact with the melted fuel debris, they became contaminated with radioactive nuclides, such as iodine-131, caesium-134, caesium-137, and strontium-90. Over 500,000 tonnes of untreated wastewater (including 10,000 tonnes released to free up storage space) escaped into the ocean shortly after the accident.

Since the disaster, power plant company Tepco has been pumping in water to cool down the Fukushima nuclear reactors' fuel rods. This means every day the plant produces contaminated water, which is stored in massive tanks. More than 1,000 tanks have been filled, and Japan says that it needs the land occupied by the tanks to build new facilities to safely decommission the plant. It has also pointed out concerns that the tanks could collapse in a natural disaster. Releasing treated waste water into the ocean is a routine practice for nuclear plants - though critics have pointed out that the amount from Fukushima is on an unprecedented, far vaster scale.

By 2020, the daily buildup of contaminated water was reduced to 170 metric tonnes thanks to groundwater isolation installations. TEPCO reports that 72% of the water in its tanks, some from early trials of ALPS, needed to be repurified. The portion of ready-to-discharge water raised to 34% by 2021, and to 35% by 2023. Some scientists expressed reservations due to potential bioaccumulation of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium, and plutonium, which sometimes slip through the ALPS process and were present in 71% of the tanks.

The UN's atomic regulator says the water will have "negligible" radiological impact on people and the environment. The problem is being caused by a radioactive element of hydrogen called tritium, which can't be removed from the contaminated water because there is no technology to do it. Instead, the water is diluted. Tritium can be found in water all over the world. Many scientists argue if levels of tritium are low, the impact is minimal.

Water was introduced to prevent the meltdowns from progressing further after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan was wrecked by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011, which destroyed its cooling system and caused reactor cores to overheat, resulting in contaminated water within the facility. Water was introduced to prevent the meltdowns from progressing further. When cooling water, groundwater, and rain came into contact with the melted fuel debris, they became contaminated with radioactive nuclides, such as iodine-131, caesium-134, caesium-137, and strontium-90. Over 500,000 tonnes of untreated wastewater (including 10,000 tonnes released to free up storage space) escaped into the ocean shortly after the accident.

Since the disaster, power plant company Tepco has been pumping in water to cool down the Fukushima nuclear reactors' fuel rods. This means every day the plant produces contaminated water, which is stored in massive tanks. More than 1,000 tanks have been filled, and Japan says that it needs the land occupied by the tanks to build new facilities to safely decommission the plant. It has also pointed out concerns that the tanks could collapse in a natural disaster.

By 2020, the daily buildup of contaminated water was reduced to 170 metric tonnes thanks to groundwater isolation installations. TEPCO reports that 72% of the water in its tanks, some from early trials of ALPS, needed to be repurified. The portion of ready-to-discharge water raised to 34% by 2021, and to 35% by 2023. Some scientists expressed reservations due to potential bioaccumulation of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium, and plutonium, which sometimes slip through the ALPS process and were present in 71% of the tanks.

Japan is releasing waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean after receiving a green light from the IAEA. Japan has begun releasing treated radioactive water from its damaged Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean - 12 years after a nuclear meltdown. That's despite China slapping a ban on Japanese seafood and protests in Japan itself and South Korea. The UN's atomic regulator says the water will have "negligible" radiological impact on people and the environment.

The problem is being caused by a radioactive element of hydrogen called tritium, which can't be removed from the contaminated water because there is no technology to do it. Instead, the water is diluted. Tritium can be found in water all over the world. Many scientists argue if levels of tritium are low, the impact is minimal.

Tritium is a radioactive element of hydrogen that can't be removed from the contaminated water

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan began discharging radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean on March 11, 2011, following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster triggered by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Three of the plant's reactors experienced meltdowns, leaving behind melted fuel debris. Water was introduced to prevent the meltdowns from progressing further. When cooling water, groundwater, and rain came into contact with the melted fuel debris, they became contaminated with radioactive nuclides, such as iodine-131, caesium-134, caesium-137, and strontium-90. Over 500,000 tonnes of untreated wastewater (including 10,000 tonnes released to free up storage space) escaped into the ocean shortly after the accident.

Since the disaster, power plant company Tepco has been pumping in water to cool down the Fukushima nuclear reactors' fuel rods. This means that every day the plant produces contaminated water, which is stored in massive tanks. More than 1,000 tanks have been filled, and Japan says that it needs the land occupied by the tanks to build new facilities to safely decommission the plant. It has also pointed out concerns that the tanks could collapse in a natural disaster.

The daily buildup of contaminated water was reduced to 170 metric tonnes thanks to groundwater isolation installations. TEPCO reports that 72% of the water in its tanks, some from early trials of ALPS, needed to be repurified. The portion of ready-to-discharge water raised to 34% by 2021 and to 35% by 2023. Some scientists expressed reservations due to the potential bioaccumulation of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium, and plutonium, which sometimes slip through the ALPS process and were present in 71% of the tanks.

The problem is being caused by a radioactive element of hydrogen called tritium, which can't be removed from the contaminated water because there is no technology to do it. Instead, the water is diluted. Tritium can be found in water all over the world. Many scientists argue that if levels of tritium are low, the impact is minimal.

The UN's atomic regulator says the water will have "negligible" radiological impact on people and the environment. Despite this, China has slapped a ban on Japanese seafood and protests have taken place in Japan itself and South Korea.

Over 500,000 tonnes of untreated wastewater escaped into the ocean shortly after the accident

Over 500,000 tonnes of untreated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan escaped into the Pacific Ocean shortly after the accident. Three of the plant's reactors experienced meltdowns, leaving behind melted fuel debris. Water was introduced to prevent the meltdowns from progressing further. When cooling water, groundwater, and rain came into contact with the melted fuel debris, they became contaminated with radioactive nuclides, such as iodine-131, caesium-134, caesium-137, and strontium-90. The nuclear plant has accumulated 1.25 million tonnes of wastewater since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, stored in 1,061 tanks on the land of the nuclear plant.

Since the disaster, power plant company Tepco has been pumping in water to cool down the Fukushima nuclear reactors' fuel rods. This means every day the plant produces contaminated water, which is stored in massive tanks. More than 1,000 tanks have been filled, and Japan says that it needs the land occupied by the tanks to build new facilities to safely decommission the plant. It has also pointed out concerns that the tanks could collapse in a natural disaster. Releasing treated waste water into the ocean is a routine practice for nuclear plants - though critics have pointed out that the amount from Fukushima is on an unprecedented, far vaster scale.

The problem is being caused by a radioactive element of hydrogen called tritium, which can't be removed from the contaminated water because there is no technology to do it. Instead, the water is diluted. The message from experts is, overwhelmingly, that the release is safe - but not all scientists agree on the impact it will have. Tritium can be found in water all over the world. Many scientists argue if levels of tritium are low, the impact is minimal.

By 2020, the daily buildup of contaminated water was reduced to 170 metric tonnes thanks to groundwater isolation installations. TEPCO reports that 72% of the water in its tanks, some from early trials of ALPS, needed to be repurified. The portion of ready-to-discharge water raised to 34% by 2021, and to 35% by 2023. Some scientists expressed reservations due to potential bioaccumulation of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium, and plutonium, which sometimes slip through the ALPS process and were present in 71% of the tanks.

Japan says that it needs the land occupied by the tanks to build new facilities to safely decommission the plant

Japan is releasing treated radioactive wastewater from its damaged Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean 12 years after a nuclear meltdown. The meltdown was caused by an earthquake followed by a tsunami in 2011, which wrecked the nuclear power plant, destroying its cooling system and causing reactor cores to overheat and contaminate water within the facility with highly radioactive material. Since the disaster, power plant company Tepco has been pumping in water to cool down the Fukushima nuclear reactors' fuel rods. This means that every day the plant produces contaminated water, which is stored in massive tanks. More than 1,000 tanks have been filled, and Japan says that it needs the land occupied by the tanks to build new facilities to safely decommission the plant. It has also pointed out concerns that the tanks could collapse in a natural disaster.

The daily buildup of contaminated water was reduced to 170 metric tonnes by 2020 thanks to groundwater isolation installations. TEPCO reports that 72% of the water in its tanks, some from early trials of ALPS, needed to be repurified. The portion of ready-to-discharge water raised to 34% by 2021, and to 35% by 2023. Some scientists expressed reservations due to potential bioaccumulation of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium, and plutonium, which sometimes slip through the ALPS process and were present in 71% of the tanks.

The release of the water is safe, according to experts, but not all scientists agree on the impact it will have. Tritium, a radioactive element of hydrogen, can't be removed from the contaminated water because there is no technology to do it. Instead, the water is diluted. Tritium can be found in water all over the world. Many scientists argue that if levels of tritium are low, the impact is minimal.

Over 500,000 tonnes of untreated wastewater (including 10,000 tonnes released to free up storage space) escaped into the ocean shortly after the accident. Since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the nuclear plant has accumulated 1.25 million tonnes of waste water, stored in 1,061 tanks on the land of the nuclear plant, as of March 2021. It will run out of land for water tanks by 2022. It has been suggested that the government could have solved the problem by allocating more land surrounding the power plant for water tanks, since the surrounding area had been designated as unsuitable for humans.

The UN's atomic regulator says the water will have "negligible" radiological impact on people and the environment. However, China has slapped a ban on Japanese seafood and protests in Japan itself and South Korea have been held.

Frequently asked questions