Banzai?

A 2011 tsunami, wrecked Japan's coastally-located Fukushima nuclear plant. That event and its aftermath has resulted in the plant accumulating 1.3 million tonnes of radioactively-contaminated coolant water. Storage space is fast running out. The plant's operators are set to start releasing the water on the 24th August (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/22/fukushima-wastewater-from-ruined-nuclear-plant-to-be-released-from-thursday-japan-says). News of the water release has predictably caused wide concern/opprobrium. It's difficult, however, to judge the appropriateness of this action. The radioactive contaminant is tritium (an isotope of hydrogen). Tritium is discharged by other coastal nuclear power plants in other parts of the world. The isotope is also much used as a tracer in biomedical research. The United Nation's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has approved the plan for Fukushima. The plan involves a 40 times dilution of the water before discharge. The discharge will then be pumped 1 km from the shore in a pipeline. The total discharge of the 1.3 million tonnes will take 30-40 years, Over this period, fish and other organisms will be monitored. The results of that monitoring will be publically available. The IAEA maintains that the impact on people and the environment will be 'negligible'. Major objections have come, however, from South Korea and China, who import seafood from Japan. Local Japanese fisherfolk are also very concerned. Although they seem to accept that the process is safe, they are worried about the 'reputational' damage to their products. The Japanese government is offering compensation. It would obviously be preferable not to have to discharge radioactively-contaminated coolant water. It seems unfair, however, that China (the planet's largest polluter) is accusing Japan of treating the ocean 'like a dustbin'. Japan appears to be acting with caution under constrained circumstances. It's better than setting up new coal-fired electricity generating plants!