Disposal Of PLTN Fukushima Wastewater Into The Sea Begins, China Bans All Japanese Seafood Products

The radioactive wastewater tank at PLTN Fukushima Japan. (Wikimedia Commons/IAEA Imagebank)

JAKARTA - Chinese authorities announced a comprehensive ban on all marine products from Japan, as PLTN Fukushima began dismantling its radioactive wastewater into the high seas on Thursday.

"China is very concerned about the risk of radioactive contamination brought by Japanese food and agricultural products," the Chinese customs bureau said in a statement.

The Japanese government signed the plan two years ago and received the green light from the UN nuclear watchdog (IAEA) last month. This release is an important step in stopping the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, after being damaged by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) power generation operator said the release began at 13.03. local time and no abnormalities were found.

However, Beijing has reiterated its rejection of the plan, saying Tokyo has not proven that the dumped water is safe.

"Japanese side should not cause secondary losses to local communities and even the world community because of its own selfish interests," China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

On the other hand, Tokyo criticized China for spreading unfounded claims scientifically.

They stated that the release of the water was safe, underlining the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also concluded the impact it has on humans and the environment is "negligible".

Therefore, Japan has requested that China immediately lift the ban on imports of marine products, seeking discussions on the impact of releasing water based on science, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

The export value of Japanese marine products to China reached 600 million US dollars last year, or Matahari Terbit's largest export market, followed by Hong Kong in second place. Government data show that exports to the two regions cover 42 percent of the total exports of Japanese marine products last year.

China's Customs and Excise did not provide details regarding certain aquatic products affected by the ban, nor immediately responding to requests for comment.

The first disposal amounted to 7,800 cubic meters equivalent to about three Olympic swimming pools will last for about 17 days.

According to the Tepco test results released on Thursday, the water contains about 63 becquerel tritium per liter, below the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water limit of 10,000 becquerel per liter. Becquerel is a radioactivity unit.

The IAEA also released a statement saying independent analysis in the field had confirmed tritium concentrations well below the limit.

"There will be no health impact whatsoever... There is no scientific reason to ban imports of any Japanese food," said Geraldine Thomas, a former professor of molecular pathology at Imperial College London.

But Japanese fishing groups, which have suffered reputational damage over the years due to fear of radiation, are still against the plan.

"All we want is to be able to continue to catch fish," said the head of the Japan Fisheries Cooperative in a statement that alludes to increasing anxiety in society.

Apart from China, Hong Kong and Macau have also announced their ban from Thursday, which includes imports of Japanese seafood from 10 regions.

Meanwhile, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said the ban on imports of fishery and food products from Fukushima would remain in effect until public concerns eased.

Japan itself will conduct monitoring around the water release area and publish its results every week starting next Sunday, Japan's Environment Minister said. The total release of this water is estimated to take up to 30 years.