#Japan will soon release #Fukushima #radioactive water into the #ocean. How worried should we be?

Some have cast doubt on the #IAEA’s findings, with China recently arguing that the group’s assessment “is not proof of the legality and legitimacy” of Fukushima’s wastewater release.

By Jessie Yeung, Mayumi Maruyama and Emiko Jozuka, July 5, 2023

"Robert H. Richmond, director of the Kewalo Marine Laboratory at the University of #Hawaii at Manoa, is among a group of international scientists working with the #PacificIslandForum to assess the wastewater release plan – including visits to the Fukushima site, and meetings with TEPCO, Japanese authorities and the IAEA. After reviewing the details of the plan, Richmond called it 'ill-advised' and premature.

"One concern is that diluting the wastewater might not be enough to reduce its impact on marine life. #Pollutants like tritium can pass through various levels of the #FoodChain – including plants, animals, and bacteria – and be '#bioaccumulated,' meaning they will build up in the marine #ecosystem, he said.

"He added that the world’s oceans are already under stress from #ClimateChange, ocean #acidification, #overfishing and #pollution. The last thing it needs is to be treated like a 'dumping ground,' he said.

"And the potential risks won’t just affect the #AsiaPacific region. One 2012 study found evidence that bluefin #tuna had transported #radionuclides – radioactive isotopes like the ones in #nuclear #wastewater – from Fukushima across the Pacific to California."

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/07/04/asia/japan-fukushima-wastewater-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html

#NoDumping #FukushimaWater #TEPCOLies #PacificOcean #WaterIsLife #Corporatism #Corruption #JapanGovernment

#PapuaNewGuinea #PacificIslandForum During my 3 yrs in PNG, the USG ramped up its political interest there & SI: building a new, bigger embassy in #POM; military assistance to rebuild naval capabilities in the northern coast; investing in #peacebuilding and #GBV reduction in the Highlands. The elephant in the room is #ExxonMobil & other extractives depleting resources & corrupt politicians lining their own pockets while PNG remains the most underdevelopped in the region. https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-indias-modi-meet-pacific-island-leaders-papua-new-guinea-pm-says-2023-04-30/