[Reading Science] Protect the 'National Table' Against Fukushima Contaminated Water

Need for Advanced Technology in Existing Radiological Testing
Proactive and Comprehensive Measures Required to Protect the Nation's Dining Table

The discharge of radioactive contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan is scheduled as early as this coming April. If it cannot be forcibly stopped, utmost efforts must be made to ensure the safety of seafood reaching the tables of our citizens. There is an urgent need to develop and advance related technologies such as rapid and accurate testing, analysis of the marine spread of radioactive substances and ecological impact, and human risk assessment. Why is the Fukushima contaminated water problematic, and what technologies can secure the safety of seafood?

Discharge Imminent... Rising Public Anxiety

Japan plans to discharge approximately 1.3 million tons of contaminated water used to cool nuclear fuel during the Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, starting as early as next month. This contaminated water contains a total of 62 types of radioactive nuclides, including tritium, cesium-134, cesium-137, and strontium-90. The Japanese government intends to use the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove most of the nuclides and then dilute the water before discharge. They plan to reduce the concentration of tritium to 1/40 of Japan's regulatory standards and 1/7 of the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standards, discharging all contaminated water into the ocean by 2050. Other countries also discharge nuclear power plant cooling water containing tritium into the sea and claim no damage has been reported, thus persisting with their plan.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, controversy over the risks of the discharged water continues. Tritium in the discharged water exhibits unstable characteristics, emitting radiation as it decays and transforming into helium-3. During this process, if absorbed by the human body and incorporated into the hydrogen positions of DNA, it can cause cell death and reproductive function decline, damaging the human body. Although the Japanese government claims to have removed most nuclides twice, an international investigation team’s on-site inspection confirmed that various radioactive substances such as carbon-14, cesium-137, strontium-90 (20,000 times the standard), plutonium, cesium, and iodine-131 remain besides tritium.

At a parliamentary forum held last January, Dr. Pereng Dalnoki-Veress, a panelist from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), pointed out, "The contaminated water data provided by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) over 4 years and 3 months is full of errors," adding, "The concentration of radioactive tellurium-127, which has a half-life of only 9 hours, appears very high, indicating the data is incomplete, inappropriate, and inconsistent." Dr. Veress further stated, "TEPCO’s sample data is heavily biased, focusing only on tritium among the 64 problematic radioactive substances, and the permit for constructing the contaminated water discharge tunnel was rushed. The Fukushima nuclear accident is not over but ongoing and remains highly abnormal. Therefore, the Japanese government must more definitively prove that the marine discharge of Fukushima nuclear water poses no problem."

Arjun Makhijani, president of the U.S. Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, also expressed concern, saying, "TEPCO must prove that the 62 radioactive nuclides other than tritium and carbon-14 can be properly treated through ALPS," and "The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), aware that ALPS treatment of contaminated water is incomplete, is concealing or condoning this." Dr. Makhijani argued that treatment should be done by extending storage through additional tanks, using the water in concrete production, or biological purification rather than marine discharge.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Urgent Need for Seafood Safety Assurance Technologies

Accordingly, as anxiety rises among the domestic fisheries industry and the public, there is a growing call for more scientific and systematic countermeasures. A recent report titled “Technologies to Ensure Seafood Safety Following Radioactive Contaminated Water Discharge” published by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Public Technology Division pointed out the need to advance existing technologies and take preemptive and comprehensive responses. The report emphasized that rapid and precise testing technology development is urgent to ensure the safety of seafood served on citizens’ tables. Above all, technologies that can quickly and accurately analyze seafood contaminated with alpha and beta nuclide radioactivity or trace radioactive substances are the top priority.

Additionally, the development of standard certified materials and mobile radiation analysis equipment is urgent. Currently, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety leads the establishment of a food radiation monitoring system, continuously investing budgets to monitor whether substances such as plutonium (alpha), strontium (beta), cesium (gamma), and iodine are being discharged. In the private sector, Orion ENC developed a real-time on-site inspection system with a budget of 213 million KRW in 2014-2015, and SF Tech also received 230 million KRW in 2016 to develop real-time detection technology for underwater radioactive contaminants.

The report stated, "Radioactive substances accumulate in marine organisms through the food chain and eventually accumulate in humans through the food served on tables," adding, "There is much controversy over the human risk of nuclear power plant contaminated water, and since this issue directly relates to the health and life of the public, seafood production and distribution must be conducted safely and reliably based on scientific and systematic research results on the actual state of radioactive contamination in seafood."

There is also a need to advance Korea-specific models for assessing the marine spread of radioactive contaminated water and its ecological impact. Although the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute operates the Radiation Environmental Protection System (RAPS-K) it developed independently, and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology jointly developed monitoring and prediction systems with China’s First Institute of Oceanography, improvements are needed to enhance accuracy and reliability. The report noted, "Due to the nature of nuclear power generation, even with multiple safety devices, a single accident can cause fatal consequences, so preemptive responses are necessary," and emphasized "close cooperation systems among various research institutes, universities, and industries."

The development of human risk assessment and risk communication technologies for radioactive contaminated seafood is also critical. The report advised, "Research is needed to understand the patterns of radioactive nuclide concentration by fish parts and accumulation in the food web according to the unique Korean dietary culture, as well as the mechanisms and pathways of accumulation," and "It is necessary to establish a background concentration database for predicting and responding to contamination levels in seawater and seafood, and to conduct in-depth studies on the relatively insufficient human risk assessment."