日本以核污水存儲(chǔ)能力即將達(dá)到上限為由，在2021年4月13日，正式?jīng)Q定將福島第一核電站核污水排入太平洋。過(guò)去一年多，日本政府和東京電力公司一直在持續(xù)推進(jìn)核污水排海計(jì)劃。
日本政府辯稱，這些核污水經(jīng)多核素處理系統(tǒng)(ALPS)處理后很安全，甚至“可以喝”，這樣的表態(tài)無(wú)疑在愚弄大眾。
事實(shí)上，經(jīng)過(guò)處理的核污水仍含有多種放射性物質(zhì)，核污水一旦排放入海就無(wú)法回收，長(zhǎng)期來(lái)看，將會(huì)給海洋生態(tài)帶來(lái)難以估量的潛在威脅，最終危害人類健康。
因此，核污水排海計(jì)劃推出后，遭到日本民眾強(qiáng)烈反對(duì)。日本《朝日新聞》2022年3月公布的問(wèn)卷調(diào)查顯示，福島縣、宮城縣和巖手縣受訪的42個(gè)市町村長(zhǎng)中，約六成反對(duì)東京電力公司福島第一核電站核污水排放入海。日本全國(guó)漁業(yè)協(xié)會(huì)聯(lián)合會(huì)也多次申明立場(chǎng)，反對(duì)該計(jì)劃。
日本政府認(rèn)為，核污水排海是最便宜、最省事的解決方案，但此舉卻將周邊國(guó)家乃至全世界置于核污染風(fēng)險(xiǎn)中。太平洋非日本一家之海，核污水會(huì)隨著洋流流動(dòng)，其影響勢(shì)必會(huì)跨越國(guó)界，危害周邊國(guó)家乃至整個(gè)國(guó)際社會(huì)的公共福祉和利益。
《韓國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)新聞》發(fā)文稱，相關(guān)研究認(rèn)為，福島核污水如果排放入海，約7個(gè)月后將到達(dá)濟(jì)州等韓國(guó)海域，該國(guó)水產(chǎn)業(yè)和旅游業(yè)將遭受相當(dāng)大的損失。
德國(guó)南極海洋機(jī)構(gòu)也曾發(fā)出警告，若日本將所有核污水排入海中，不到半年，整個(gè)太平洋都將面臨高度輻射威脅，包括遠(yuǎn)在大洋另一端的美國(guó)。太平洋地區(qū)人民更是對(duì)日本該計(jì)劃持反對(duì)意見(jiàn)。
日本作為《聯(lián)合國(guó)海洋法公約》締約國(guó)，有義務(wù)保護(hù)海洋環(huán)境。然而，在核污水排海方案的正當(dāng)性、核污水?dāng)?shù)據(jù)的可靠性、凈化裝置的有效性、環(huán)境影響的不確定性等問(wèn)題上，日本未能作出科學(xué)、可信的說(shuō)明。
國(guó)際原子能機(jī)構(gòu)技術(shù)工作組雖已三次赴日實(shí)地考察評(píng)估，但尚未就日排海方案的安全性給出結(jié)論，并且對(duì)日本提出諸多澄清要求和整改意見(jiàn)。在此情況下，日本仍執(zhí)意推進(jìn)核污水排海工程建設(shè)，這是極不負(fù)責(zé)任的行為。
太平洋不是日本的下水道，日本必須正視各方合理關(guān)切，在與周邊國(guó)家等相關(guān)利益方和國(guó)際原子能機(jī)構(gòu)充分協(xié)商后，制定合理的核污水處理方案。日本也要著眼長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)，若只顧眼前，執(zhí)意將核污水排放入海，不僅其自身，周邊國(guó)家乃至全世界都將為之買單，其后果必將會(huì)危害數(shù)代人。
Fukushima water disposal by no means Japan’s own business
By John Lee
(ECNS) -- Japan has announced it will release treated wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean this year.
Although Fukushima wastewater disposal affects global marine ecological environment protection and public health, Japan has turned a deaf ear to domestic and international opposition to dumping the contaminated water into the sea, treating the "global" matter as its own business.
The Fukushima accident in 2011 had sent large quantities of radiation into the atmosphere and the Pacific Ocean, causing irreversible damage to the surrounding environment, and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to evacuate the area. South Korea still maintains its import ban on Japanese seafood from areas affected by the Fukushima nucleardisaster.
On April 13, 2021, Japan announced it had decided to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea due to dwindling storage space, with the Japanese government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. promoting the release plan over the past year.
The Japanese government argues that the water treated by an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, is safe and drinkable, which is undoubtedly fooling the public.
In fact, the treated wastewater still includes a variety of radioactive substances and can’t be recycled once discharged into the sea, which will pose a great threat to marine ecology and ultimately endanger human health in the long run.
Therefore, the discharge plan has been strongly opposed in Japan. According to a questionnaire conducted by The Asahi Shimbun, nearly 60 percent of mayors of 42 municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures oppose the discharge plan. The National Fisheries Cooperative Federation of Japan has also repeatedly stated its opposition in public.
The Japanese government believes that dumping Fukushima wastewater into the sea is the cheapest and most convenient solution, but neighboring countries and even the whole world will be at risk of nuclear pollution.
The Pacific Ocean doesn’t belong to Japan and the wastewater flow along oceanic currents will surely break boundaries and endanger public welfare and the interests of neighboring countries and even the international community.
The Korea Economic Daily reported that related research concluded that if contaminated water from Fukushima is released into the ocean, it would only take seven months for the contaminated water to reach the shores of Jeju Island, with the country"s aquaculture and tourism suffering considerable losses.
According to the calculation of a German marine scientific research institute, radioactive materials will spread to most of the Pacific Ocean within half a year from the date of discharge, and the U.S. and Canada will be affected by nuclear pollution. People in the Pacific region also oppose the discharge plan.
As a participant of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Japan has the obligation of protecting the marine environment.
However, it hasn’t offered a full and convincing explanation on issues like the legitimacy of the discharge plan, the reliability of data on the nuclear-contaminated water, the efficacy of the treatment system or the uncertainty of environmental impact.
Though the IAEA has yet to complete a comprehensive review after three investigations in Japan, the Japanese side has been pushing through the approval process for its discharge plan and even started building facilities for the discharge. It is rather irresponsible for Japan to act against public opinion at home and concerns abroad.
The Pacific Ocean is not a private Japanese sewer. The country must seriously heed the voices of the international community and make a reasonable plan for the Fukushima wastewater disposal after full consultation with stakeholders and international agencies.
If it only seeks instant interest and insists on discharging the contaminated water into the sea, not only itself, but also its neighboring countries and the entire world will pay for the decision and several generations will be forced to bear the consequence.
