The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) yesterday said that it would soon offer tritium concentration diffusion forecasts for sea water after Japan announced that starting tomorrow, it would discharge treated and diluted radioactive wastewater from the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave the final go-ahead yesterday at a meeting of ministers involved in the plan and instructed the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, to be ready to start the coastal release tomorrow if weather and sea conditions permit.
Based on the nuclear plant’s design, the tritium-containing wastewater would first be filtered by an advanced liquid processing system and discharged through an undersea tunnel into waters about 1km off the coast, the council said.
Photo: AFP
The amount of tritium discharged into the ocean would be capped at 22 trillion becquerels per year — the cap set for the Fukushima plant when it was operating normally before the disaster in 2011.
The design of the nuclear wastewater discharge was reviewed and inspected by Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority and meets the safety requirement for international nuclear power plants, the council said.
The government is to adopt several key measures in response to the move’s potential repercussions on the oceanic environment, the council said.
To study how the discharge of radioactive wastewater would affect waters around Taiwan, the council said in a statement that its Institute of Nuclear Energy Research has been working with the Central Weather Bureau to conduct diffusion simulation analyses on tritium concentration in the sea, based on 10 years of data collected after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
The results showed that most of the wastewater flowed east toward the US west coast, the council said.
A small portion reached waters near Taiwan about one to two years after the discharge through a mesoscale eddy in the north Pacific Ocean, it said.
The tritium concentration is to reach maximum levels in about four years after the discharge starts, but it would still be far below normal background radiation levels, it said.
The discharge would have a “negligible impact” on the safety of waters near Taiwan,” it added.
“We will continue to conduct diffusion simulation analyses and begin to offer ocean tritium concentration diffusion forecasts after the discharge begins,” the council said.
The council added that it would work with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ocean Affairs Council to regularly sample seawater and Taiwanese and Japanese seafood products to ensure that they meet food safety requirements.
The International Atomic Energy Agency on July 4 said that a joint investigation by 11 agency members showed that Japan’s nuclear wastewater discharge plan meets international safety standards and would have negligible effects on people and the environment, the council said.
Taiwanese experts also arrived at similar conclusions after conducting on-site inspections three times, it said.
“However, given that the nuclear wastewater discharge is to continue for more than 30 years, we will continue to monitor the operation and ask Japan to have an emergency response plan for any abnormality or emergency situation,” the council said.
Additional reporting by AP
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS