Japan's Nuclear-Contaminated Water Imperils Humankind

Jong Won Ju, researcher of the DPRK Institute for International Studies, authored the following article "A dangerous criminal state degrades environment and endangers humankind":

The Japanese government's recent decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Atomic Power Plant to the sea has sparked increasing protest from the international community.

Against this backdrop, colloid suspected to be radioactive waste was spotted near the plant and high-concentration radioactivity was detected in the nearby drainage canal, triggering off another round of international controversy.

Investigation proved the colloidal substance to be radioactive waste that leaked from the plant, raising suspicion that some of them could have been washed away to the sea by rainwater.

This notwithstanding, Japan argues that the recent leakage has made no adverse impact on the environment, showing no intent to withdraw the decision.

Discharging water contaminated with nuclear materials to the sea, a treasure common to humankind the origin of activities of all living things, is a crime of threatening the existence of the whole of mankind beyond a country and a region.

Lots of radioactive materials that leaked due to the 2011 accident in the plant have seriously impinged on the world eco-environment as evidenced by the detection of radioactive materials not only on the Japanese coast but on the Pacific coast in North America.

According to estimation by Tokyo Electricity Company carried by the April 21st, 2011 issue of the Tokyo Shimbun, radioactive materials amounting to one-year accumulation under normal conditions found their way to the sea in just six days from April 1 and those materials were more than 20 000 times as many as the tolerance limits.

Afterwards, there was a chain of accidents, big or small, related to high-concentration contaminated water leakage from the plant, namely the December 2011 leakage of 45 tons of contaminated water containing radioactive materials of one million times of tolerance limits, the August and December 2013 leakage of 500 tons of contaminated water of 2.66 million times of tolerance limits, and the February 2014 leakage of about 100 tons of contaminated water. This has generated worldwide fear about the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water.

Despite the seriousness, the Japanese government intentionally discharged 11 500 tons of nuclear contaminated water, calling it "low-concentration contaminated water" though it was of 100 times the amount of the internationally set tolerance limits.

As this drew a flurry of harsh criticism from the international community, Japan announced it would hold the water after refining. But behind the scene, by taking advantage of a Japanese holding the post of the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it plotted to continue the release and has now reached the point of taking the impudent decision making everyone doubt their ears.

The issue is an international issue related to the existence of humankind, not just an internal issue of Japan.

Japan is now deeply involved in such various kinds of crimes degrading the eco-environment as the internationally banned whaling for food and the ivory smuggling.

All facts show that Japan is a dangerous criminal state damaging the environment by taking no heed of international law and the health and security of mankind to meet its own selfish interests.

It claims that the water retained by it is "treated water" that had gone through poly-nuclear clearing equipment, and it is "safe" and "scientifically-tested", but the world justice and conscience will not be taken in.

Japan must promptly withdraw the decision, not engaging in trickery designed to avoid the public eye.

KCNA

2021-06-08