On April 13, 2021, the Japanese government finally decided to release the contaminated water stored at Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Japan professed that if they use ALSP (Advanced Liquid Processing System), it will be unproblematic. They said they will purify the radioactive water with ALSP. However, the data is treacherous.

▲ Storage tanks contaminated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

In fact, ALSP cannot eliminate all of the radioactive materials in polluted water. Moreover, Japanese media have also reported that even after purifying contaminated water with ALSP, materials such as ruthenium and strontium cannot be removed. Dozens of radioactive materials in contaminates water can be potential risk factors. Of course, some will be purified through ALSP. However, many experts say that it is not easy to filter out as many as 62 types of radioactive material perfectly.

▲ Image by NOAA about the prediction of leak of radioactive water in the future

When these radioactive materials flow into the sea, they will be absorbed by living things such as plankton and fishes. According to the food chain, the bigger fish will eat the smaller ones, and the radioactive materials will be spread increasingly. If the radioactive materials spread so fast, the fishermen can lose their job, and the ocean will continue to be contaminated. This problem can affect fishes near the Korean Peninsula, Pacific Ocean, and even all around the world.

Although there is a lot of rejection from people around the world, the Japanese government is still planning the release of polluted radioactive water into the sea. If they release the contaminated water, this can be a serious international problem. We need to try hard to get more information about the release in order that we can prepare and predict the future impact well.

2021-05-22

By Young Chae Lee