Japan started the fourth release of the nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean at around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Despite raging concerns and opposition both at home and abroad, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said that it would start discharging about 7,800 tonnes of wastewater, which will continue until March 17.
South Korean fishermen stage a rally against the planned release of nuclear-contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, June 12, 2023. /CFP
Hit by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.
The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down the nuclear reactor buildings, which have been stored in tanks at the nuclear plant.
In August 2023, Japan began to discharge the contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean. So far, it has dumped about 23,400 tonnes of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.
People hold banners reading "Don't dump contaminated water into sea!" outside TEPCO headquarters, Tokyo, Japan, May 16, 2023. /CFP
TEPCO plans to carry out seven rounds of discharges from April 2024 to March 2025, totaling 54,600 tonnes.