UN inspectors took samples from a fish market near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant yesterday following the release of wastewater from the wrecked facility in August.
China and Russia have banned Japanese seafood imports, but Japan said it is safe, a view backed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
About 540 Olympic swimming pools worth of water have been collected since a tsunami sent three reactors at Fukushima-Daiichi into meltdown in 2011 in one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Japan said that the water has been filtered by its Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) of radioactive substances — except tritium — and diluted with seawater.
Japan said tests have shown that tritium levels are within safe limits.
The IAEA team comprising scientists from China, South Korea and Canada were collecting fish, water and sediment samples this week to verify Japan’s findings.
Paul McGinnity, a member of the mission, told reporters that the aim was “to ascertain whether the Japanese labs are measuring and analyzing properly” tritium levels.
“Tritium is the concern because tritium levels as you know are relatively high because it is not removed by the ALPS process,” McGinnity said. “I can say that we don’t expect to see any change [in tritium levels,] certainly in the fish.”
Samples are to be sent back to labs in the team members’ home countries for independent review, and the IAEA is to evaluate and publish those results.
Russia this week followed its ally China in banning Japanese seafood imports.
Japan, which has called China’s ban politically motivated, said Moscow’s move was an “unjust” step “without any scientific basis.”
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