Reacción a "Reactions to Japan's plan to dump treated wastewater from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean"

Concerns remain regarding the impending release of treated, radioactively-contaminated cooling water from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster. 

Japan’s plan to begin releasing the treated, contaminated cooling water into the Pacific Ocean is premature, and presently, ill-advised. The ocean is a precious and shared resource for all humankind, now and for generations to come. The supporting Radiological Environmental Impact Assessment prepared by TEPCO is deficient and inadequate, as are the monitoring plans and approaches which do not address ecosystem protection, only detection. 

The fate of particular radionuclides in marine sediments is notably absent, as are well-designed studies of uptake, trophic transfer and bioaccumulation in marine organisms, particularly edible species of commercial and cultural value. Importantly, the potential negative effects and impacts of this activity are not independent from the multitude of stressors already affecting ocean health and that of the people who depend on it, including pollution from pesticides, heavy metals, industrial wastes, hydrocarbons, plastics, climate change, and ecosystem disruptions tied to over-exploitation of resources. 

The peoples of the Pacific did not contribute to the present problems and have nothing to gain from Japan’s plan for the contaminated water release over the next 30+ years, but have much at risk for generations to come, in violation of the precautionary principle as well as transboundary safety considerations. 

Better and safer alternatives exist, including using the accumulating cooling water for mixing concrete for needed structures.