Busan City Holds First Dedicated Team Meeting on Response to Fukushima Nuclear Plant Contaminated Water Discharge

10:30 AM on the 15th at City Hall Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters

Busan City will hold the first meeting of the "Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Contaminated Water Discharge Response Task Force" at 10:30 a.m. on the 15th at the City Hall Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

This meeting is the first since the task force, led by the Deputy Mayor of Busan, was formed on February 28 to ensure citizen safety and alleviate public anxiety regarding the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The task force consists of four teams and 13 departments, including the Radiation Assessment Team that monitors and analyzes seawater radioactivity and radioactivity in food and seafood, the Marine Fisheries General Team that investigates damages to the fisheries industry and prepares support measures, the Situation General Team that oversees and coordinates response activities, and the Citizen Public Relations Team that handles media communication and provides accurate information.

This meeting will review the response direction and action plans with related agencies and departments to establish a comprehensive countermeasure against the Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water discharge. About 40 people, including heads of the 13 departments in the city task force, officials from the Busan Institute, and the Radiation Science and Technology Research Institute of Pukyong National University, are expected to attend.

The agenda will cover ▲domestic and international trends regarding the Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water ▲review of response status and action plans by departments (institutions) ▲presentation of citizen awareness survey and policy recommendations (Busan Institute) ▲announcement of coastal seawater measurement results in Busan (Pukyong National University).

In particular, the Busan Institute will propose response policies through the "Busan City Preparations Related to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Contaminated Water Discharge" policy recommendations, including ▲establishment and operation of an Integrated Environmental Radiation Monitoring Center (tentative name) and a Seafood Quarantine and Inspection Center (tentative name) ▲building a scientific research system for local industry-academia collaboration ▲securing information delivery methods for consumers and tourists ▲solidarity with civil society ▲and education for Busan citizens.

Through this meeting, the city plans to strengthen the early warning system for radioactivity by additionally securing two ship-mounted and fixed real-time seawater radioactivity unmanned monitoring networks and two radioactivity analysis devices for food and seafood before the contaminated water discharge. The city will also expand real-time seawater radioactivity monitoring and food and seafood radioactivity inspections to ensure citizen safety and alleviate public anxiety.

Furthermore, the results of radioactivity inspections will be provided regularly through social networking services (SNS) and the city’s website, and the crackdown on the origin of seafood will be intensified.

Dedicated team formation.

Deputy Mayor Ahn Byung-yoon stated, "Today’s task force meeting marks the starting point to ensure citizen safety and alleviate public anxiety from the Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water discharge. We will transparently disclose objective and scientific facts such as radioactivity inspection results to citizens, further strengthen the early warning system for radioactivity, and prioritize citizen safety by fully dedicating city administration capabilities to the discharge response."