China's National Atomic Energy Agency has spoken out on the issue of Japan's Fukushima nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea

On July 4th, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Grossy, officially released the IAEA's comprehensive assessment report on the issue of Japan's Fukushima nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea in Tokyo, Japan. In response, Deng Ge, Secretary General of the Chinese National Atomic Energy Agency, told the media that the IAEA invited experts from multiple countries to participate in the review and evaluation of Japan's Fukushima nuclear contaminated water disposal issue, but the report did not fully reflect all expert opinions, and the relevant conclusions have limitations and one-sidedness. China regrets the hasty release of the report by the IAEA.

Firstly, the Japanese side has not proven the legitimacy and legality of the decision to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea. After unilaterally making a decision to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea, the Japanese government, under domestic and international pressure, requested the IAEA to conduct a review and evaluation. The Japanese side deliberately restricted the authorization of the IAEA Technical Working Group, limiting the review and evaluation to only one option of discharge into the sea and excluding other possible disposal options. Even if the IAEA considers that discharging into the sea meets international safety standards, it cannot prove that discharging into the sea is the only or best solution for disposing of nuclear contaminated water.

Secondly, the Japanese side has not demonstrated the long-term effectiveness and reliability of the nuclear contaminated water purification device. The IAEA report points out that the multi nuclide treatment system adopted by Japan cannot remove all radioactive nuclides from nuclear contaminated water. From the past operation of ALPS, it has been proven that it is unable to effectively remove radioactive isotopes such as tritium and carbon-14. Whether it can effectively remove other radioactive isotopes also requires further testing and engineering verification. According to the data released by the Japanese side, more than 70% of the nuclear contaminated water treated by ALPS still does not meet the discharge standards and needs to be purified again. In the subsequent long-term operation process, the performance effectiveness and reliability of ALPS will further decrease with equipment corrosion and aging.

Thirdly, the Japanese side has not proven the true accuracy of the data on nuclear contaminated water. Tokyo Electric Power Company has repeatedly concealed and tampered with data on nuclear contaminated water in recent years. The Japanese side unilaterally approved the sea discharge plan, intensified preparations for sea discharge, and exerted pressure on the IAEA's review and evaluation through various means. The IAEA only conducts review and evaluation based on data and information unilaterally provided by Japan, and only conducts inter laboratory comparative analysis on a small amount of nuclear contaminated water samples collected unilaterally by Japan. In the situation where the authenticity and accuracy of the data need to be confirmed, and the independence and representativeness of the sampling are seriously insufficient, even if the IAEA's review and evaluation concludes that the discharge meets international safety standards, it lacks sufficient persuasiveness.

Fourthly, the Japanese side has not proven that the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea is harmless to the marine environment and human health and safety. Fukushima nuclear contaminated water contains over 60 radioactive nuclides, many of which have not yet been effectively treated. Some long-lived nuclides may diffuse with ocean currents, causing uncertain impacts on the ecological balance and marine environment of surrounding countries; It may also pose potential risks to food safety and human health through the migration of marine organisms and the food chain through bioaccumulation effects. Even if the nuclear contaminated water impact assessment and emission control measures promised by Japan comply with international safety standards, without effective measures to ensure that Japan fulfills its commitments, the long-term potential harm of nuclear contaminated water discharge to the marine environment and human health cannot be ruled out.

The Chinese side urges the Japanese side to face the legitimate and reasonable concerns of the international community, the opinions and suggestions of the IAEA and other international professional authoritative institutions, and not to initiate sea discharge until credible evidence is provided on the legitimacy of the decision on the discharge of nuclear contaminated water, the reliability of purification devices, the authenticity of source data, and the uncertainty of environmental impact, and the understanding of neighboring countries and other stakeholders is obtained. Effective rectification measures should be taken on the assessment opinions proposed by the IAEA before the discharge is initiated.

The IAEA report clearly states that during the implementation phase of Japan's discharge into the sea, the IAEA will continue to conduct fair, independent, and objective review and evaluation, as well as independent sampling and monitoring. China urges the IAEA to take the lead in establishing an independent and effective long-term international monitoring mechanism with the full participation of third-party laboratories such as Japan's neighboring countries as soon as possible; In the process of formulating a long-term monitoring mechanism, it is necessary to fully listen to the opinions of experts from various countries, and fully consider the concerns and participation of Japan's neighboring countries, Pacific island countries and other stakeholders. The Chinese side urges the Japanese side to fully cooperate with the international long-term monitoring mechanism led by the IAEA and subsequent review and evaluation tasks, continue to carry out long-term reliability monitoring of ALPS, monitoring of nuclear contaminated water sources and environment, and radioactive environmental impact assessment, timely and transparently disclose credible data information to neighboring countries and other stakeholders, and accept supervision and questioning. Before the long-term monitoring mechanism is established, discharge into the sea shall not be initiated; Once abnormal data or control system failure is detected in the discharge of nuclear contaminated water, the discharge into the sea must be immediately stopped.