Japanese Govt Warns Fukushima Plant Operator Over Contaminated Water Leak

The Japanese government has warned Tokyo Electric Power Company after contaminated water was found to have leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, NIKKIE Asia reported.

Ken Siato, the minister for economy, trade and industry said that even a single mistake could result in a loss of trust from the local community and society.

The warning comes days following a leak of 5.5 tonnes of water containing radioactive materials on February 7 that was attributed to a worker error by the company. The company has maintained that the leak poses no threat to workers or the environment.

There have been question marks raised on the company’s ability to safely manage decommissioning after a safety violation in October last year where there was exposure to radioactive waste.

Since last August, Tokyo has begun to release treated radioactive wastewater from the plant, which has triggered strong reactions from China, the opposition in South Korea and Solomon Islands.

Recently, Chinese minister for environment Huang Runqiu told the Japanese ambassador Kenji Kanasugi in Beijing that the Japanese government should dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a responsible manner and cooperate fully with stakeholders like Japan’s neighbouring countries.

The Japanese government has said that the water that will be released into the Pacific Ocean meets safety standards. The plant has over 1 million tonnes of treated wastewater to release in a 30-year process. Japan has been collecting and storing contaminated water in tanks for over a decade now, but is saying space is running out.

In 2011, a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake flooded three reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

This forced authorities to set up an exclusion zone which continued to be expanded as radiation leaked from the plant, resulting in over 150,000 people to be evacuated from the area.

Both South Korea and China have already banned fish imports from around Fukushima.