On 11 March 2011, a huge earthquake and tsunami caused the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale, the highest possible classification, the explosion that erupted at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma, Japan released so much radioactivity that over 150,000 people had to be evacuated.
A key finding after a year-long investigation blamed the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) for failing to take foreseeable steps to ensure proper safety measures.
On 13 April, the Global Times reported there is international furor over TEPCO’s decision, approved by the Japanese government, to release tons of nuclear contaminated wastewater, which the utility injected into the nuclear reactors in 2011 to cool them down after the explosion.
TEPCO claims “the contaminated water will likely fill up all the plant’s available tanks by summer of 2022… which prompted the Japanese government to approve the decision of dumping the treated water [1.25 million tons] still containing radioactive substances into the ocean.”
TEPCO says it looked at several alternatives to dealing with the wastewater issue but decided on what the Global Times called the “cheapest plan” and considered the “best option” by the Japanese government.
Lying Nuke Gang
But TEPCO, in addition to being found guilty for failing to install safety features in anticipation of potential earthquakes, has also been caught doctoring its records. According to the Global Times, “Since 1977, TEPCO has been accused of falsifying data and concealing safety risks in 199 periodic inspections.”
Responding to the news that TEPCO plans to release over a million tons of nuclear wastewater into the ocean, Greenpeace East Asia claimed the filtration system used by TEPCO does not remove toxic substances completely such as tritium, carbon 14, strontium-90, iodine 129, and cobalt-16.
In a follow-up article on 14 April, the Global Times interviewed Gui Liming, professor at the Department of Engineering Physics of Tsinghua University and an expert on nuclear safety system, who said:
“The impact will be hidden in the short run, but it will be reflected in the long term. When radioactive substances in the Pacific Ocean spread to the sea areas in multiple countries, the radiation exposure levels in people’s bodies may increase after eating contaminated marine products. That may later affect the structure of human DNA.”
China has also directly challenged the decision to release the toxic seawater. Last Tuesday, its Foreign Ministry official Zhao Lijian made it clear that as a close neighbor, it expects Japan to reconsider and hold off on the plan until an agreement can be reached with other countries that will be affected as well.
Also, last Tuesday, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon “summoned Japanese Ambassador Koichi Aiboshi and lodged a solemn protest.”
U.S. Reaction: Poison to the People
The United States, on the other hand, has made it known that Japan has its support. Last Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted, “We thank Japan for its transparent efforts in its decision to dispose of the treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi site.”
TRENDPOST: With the western media focused on the COVID War, the deadly consequences of dumping over a million tons of nuclear contaminated wastewater into the sea is basically blacked out. And, among America’s so-called mislabeled “liberals” who hated Donald Trump and love Joe Biden, there is no condemnation among them for supporting Japan’s “dump the nuclear waste in the water” plan.
