Its difficult to be sure that this won't cause problems at some point in the future & until they can be sure, it may be better to retain the water rather than risk damage to the Pacific.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66106162
[b]"A controversial plan by Japan to release treated waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant has sparked anxiety and anger at home and abroad.[/b]
Since the 2011 tsunami which severely damaged the plant, more than a million tonnes of treated waste water has accumulated there. Japan now wants to start discharging it into the Pacific Ocean.
The UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has published a report endorsing Japan's plan.
But since it was announced two years ago, the plan has been deeply controversial in Japan with local communities expressing concerns about contamination.
Fishing and seafood industry groups in Japan and the wider region have also voiced concerns about their livelihoods, as they fear consumers will avoid buying seafood.
And Tokyo's neighbours are not happy either. China has been the most vocal, accusing Japan of treating the ocean as its "private sewer". On Tuesday it criticised the IAEA report, saying its conclusions were "one-sided".
Since the disaster, power plant company Tepco has been pumping in water to cool down the Fukushima nuclear reactors' fuel rods. This means every day the plant produces contaminated water, which is stored in massive tanks.
More than 1,000 tanks have been filled, and Japan says this is not a sustainable long-term solution. It wants to gradually release this water into the Pacific Ocean over the next 30 years, insisting it is safe to be discharged.
UN-appointed human rights experts [b]have opposed the plan,[/b] as have environmental activists. Greenpeace has released reports casting doubt on Tepco's treatment process, alleging it does not go far enough in removing radioactive substances.
Critics say Japan should, for the time being, keep the treated water in the tanks. They argue this buys time to develop new processing technologies, and allow any remaining radioactivity to naturally reduce.
There are also some scientists who are uncomfortable with the plan. They say it requires more studies on how it would affect the ocean bed and marine life."
The Pacific is a huge body of water. I suspect it won't even notice the extra litres.
We'd do better to worry about the melting land ice...
I wouldnt worry either, its a drop in a bucket for a start, plus its pretty much just tritium in the water which cannot be removed easily.
Its just an isotope of hydrogen with a very short half life, all decayed away in about a decade.
I have a vial of the stuff that glows on my flashlight so i can find it in the dark.
(11-07-2023, 05:18 PM)nzoomed Wrote: [ -> ]I wouldnt worry either, its a drop in a bucket for a start, plus its pretty much just tritium in the water which cannot be removed easily.
Its just an isotope of hydrogen with a very short half life, all decayed away in about a decade.
I have a vial of the stuff that glows on my flashlight so i can find it in the dark.
Ever thought of the possibility that a previous civilization on earth may have had the same problem? then the world, by their actions over a few Millenium, caused good old Earth (or whatever they called it) to self destruct shortly after? (sound familiar?) Wiping out all the above sea level life.
Then the leaked water made the critters in the ocean morph by growing legs and wriggling out of the sea to develop into the current human race?
Over the 3.4 Billion year life of our earth, my theory is highly possible!
(11-07-2023, 06:11 PM)Kenj Wrote: [ -> ] (11-07-2023, 05:18 PM)nzoomed Wrote: [ -> ]I wouldnt worry either, its a drop in a bucket for a start, plus its pretty much just tritium in the water which cannot be removed easily.
Its just an isotope of hydrogen with a very short half life, all decayed away in about a decade.
I have a vial of the stuff that glows on my flashlight so i can find it in the dark.
Ever thought of the possibility that a previous civilization on earth may have had the same problem? then the world, by their actions over a few Millenium, caused good old Earth (or whatever they called it) to self destruct shortly after? (sound familiar?) Wiping out all the above sea level life.
Then the leaked water made the critters in the ocean morph by growing legs and wriggling out of the sea to develop into the current human race?
Over the 3.4 Billion year life of our earth, my theory is highly possible!
Oddly enough, I have sometimes wondered about that possibility, & whether or not our planet might have been through several different civilisations, each of which ended badly due to human stupidity.
But then I also sometimes wonder if our planet might not be the insane asylum of the universe....
or, computer simulations as my son says....
Nah, I like the one about us being dropped off by cosmic intelligences because we were violent dangerous lifeforms - Earth, prison planet...
But it's the best prison planet I remember . . .
But whether there's been any civilisation here - past or present, depends on how you define civilised . . .
(11-07-2023, 07:12 PM)Lilith7 Wrote: [ -> ] (11-07-2023, 06:11 PM)Kenj Wrote: [ -> ]Ever thought of the possibility that a previous civilization on earth may have had the same problem? then the world, by their actions over a few Millenium, caused good old Earth (or whatever they called it) to self destruct shortly after? (sound familiar?) Wiping out all the above sea level life.
Then the leaked water made the critters in the ocean morph by growing legs and wriggling out of the sea to develop into the current human race?
Over the 3.4 Billion year life of our earth, my theory is highly possible!
Oddly enough, I have sometimes wondered about that possibility, & whether or not our planet might have been through several different civilisations, each of which ended badly due to human stupidity.
But then I also sometimes wonder if our planet might not be the insane asylum of the universe....
There has indeed been many mass extinction events on the earth, whether it was a meteor that killed the dinosaurs or even gamma ray bursts from supernovas have at least killed some life on this planet.
If only we had a time machine to look back, but at least we have the fossil record if nothing else!
(11-07-2023, 10:05 PM)R2x1 Wrote: [ -> ]But it's the best prison planet I remember . . .
But whether there's been any civilisation here - past or present, depends on how you define civilised . . .
We have cats; clearly we're civilised enough for them to become our friends.
Or perhaps we're merely their providers.
Matbe they're the aliens who put us here.
Your cats have staff, just as nature intended.
