OKUMA, Japan >> The tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant ‘s operator says it began releasing its first batch of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday — a controversial step that prompted China to ban seafood from Japan.
One expert on radioactive waste says China is overreacting. Eating a lifetime's worth of seafood from near the release site would have 'the tritium radiation equivalent of one bite of a banana,' he said.
Residents from South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Macau are considering removing seafood from their diet over fears of how Japan’s nuclear waste release may contaminate the ocean.
China announced Thursday it was banning all seafood from Japan in response to Tokyo’s decision to begin releasing treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant, dramatically escalating an already tense feud between the two neighbors.
China’s foreign ministry branded the release as “extremely selfish and irresponsible” and accused Tokyo of failing to adequately demonstrate the measure was safe and necessary, though experts broadly agree the discharge is safe.
The tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s operator says it began releasing its first batch of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday — a controversial step that prompted China to ban seafood from Japan.
Water containing radioactive tritium being pumped into Pacific via tunnel from Tepco plant, amid protests from China, South Korea and fishing communities
The seafood market in Fukushima, Japan, may take a hit as many countries decide to ban its imported seafood following Japan’s plan to release radioactive water into the sea.
In response, China banned seafood from Japan. But Japan insists the release is needed to make room for the plant's decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks.
The plan to release treated radioactive water into the ocean, which officials say is necessary to decommission the wrecked plant, has been criticized at home and abroad.
The Chinese government announced it would be banning Japanese seafood after a Japanese nuclear power plant began a controversial, decades-long process of dumping nuclear wastewater.
