#Japan's #Fukushima #nuclear wastewater 'pose major #environmental, #HumanRights risks' - UN experts

20 May 2025

"The United Nations (UN) human rights experts have written to the Japanese government to express their concerns about the release of more than one million metric tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the #PacificOcean.

"In August 2023, Japan began discharging wastewaster from about 1000 storage tanks of contaminated water collected after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that caused the meltdown of its Fukushima nuclear plant.

"In the formal communication, available publicly, UN Human Rights Council special rappoteurs addressed the the management of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS)-treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) by the Japan government and TEPCO (Tokio Electric Power), and the ongoing discharge of such waters into the Pacific Ocean.

"They said 'we are alarmed that the implementation of contaminated water release operations of into the ocean may pose major environmental and human rights risks, exposing people, especially children, to threats of further contamination in Japan and beyond.'

" 'We wish to raise our concern about the allegations of the failure to assess the consequences on health of the release of wastewater against the best available scientific evidence,' the special rappoteurs write.

" 'Against this backdrop, we would like to highlight that the threats to the enjoyment of the right to adequate food do not concern only local people within the borders of Japan.

" 'Given the migratory nature of fish, their contamination represents a risk also for people living beyond the Japanese borders, including Indigenous Peoples across the Pacific Ocean which, according to their culture and traditions, mainly rely on seafood as their primary livelihood.'

"The letter follows a complaint submitted by Ocean Vision Legal in August 2023 on behalf of the Pacific Network on Globalisation (#PANG) and endorsed by over 50 civil society groups in the Pacific and beyond.

"In a statement on Tuesday, PANG hailed it as "a landmark move for #OceanJustice and #HumanRights'.

"The organisation said that the destructive legacy of nuclear #contamination through #NuclearTesting is still strongly felt across the region.

"It said this legacy is marked by severe health impacts across generations and the ongoing failure to properly clean up test sites, which continue to contaminate the islands and waterways that Pacific peoples depend on.

" 'As Pacific groups, we remain disappointed in the Japanese Government and TEPCO's shameless disregard of the calls by numerous Pacific leaders and civil society groups to hold off on any further release,' PANG's coordinator Joey Tau said.

" 'Their ignorance constitutes a brazen threat to Pacific peoples' livelihoods, safety, health and well-being, and the sovereignty of Pacific nations,' he added.

"Japan has consistently maintained that the release is safe.

"The UN human rights experts have asked for further information from Japan, including on the allegations raised, and on how the Radiological Environmental Impact Assessment has been conducted according to the best available scientific evidence.

"This communication sends a clear message: Ocean issues must be understood as human rights issues, requiring precautionary and informed action aligned with international environmental law to safeguard both people and the marine environment.

"#OceanVisionLegal founder and CEO Anna von Rebay said while the communication is not legally binding, it is a crucial milestone.

" 'It informs the interpretation of human rights and environmental law in response to contemporary threats, contributing to the development of customary international law and strengthens accountability for any actor harming the Ocean,' she said.

" 'Ultimately, it paves the way towards a future where the Ocean's health is fully recognised as fundamental to human dignity, justice, and intergenerational equity.' "

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/561566/japan-s-fukushima-nuclear-wastewater-pose-major-environmental-human-rights-risks-un-experts

#OceansAreLife #WaterIsLife #Radiation #TEPCOLies #NoFukushimaDumping #FukushimaIsntOver #TEPCOLies #NoDumping #Tritium #PacificOcean #WaterIsLife #NoNukes #NoNewNukes #FukushimaDaiichi #Fukushima #ALPS #RadioactiveContamination #HormesisIsBullShit #Bioaccumulation #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies

Japan's Fukushima nuclear wastewater 'pose major environmental, human rights risks' - UN experts

The United Nations experts have raised their concerns about the release of more than one million metric tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.

RNZ

More fried equipment? Not surprising! #Japan to resume trial removal of #radioactive #Fukushima nuclear debris amid safety concerns

10/25/2024

Fukushima, Japan - "The operator of Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant will resume an operation to remove a sample of #HighlyRadioactive material next week, reports said Friday, after having suspended the effort over a technical snag.

"Extracting the estimated 880 tons of highly radioactive fuel and debris inside the former power station remains the most challenging part of decommissioning the facility, which was hit by a catastrophic tsunami in 2011.

"Radioactivity levels inside are far too high for humans to enter, and last month engineers began inserting an extendable device to try and remove a small sample.

"However, operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) had to halt the procedure after noticing that remote cameras on the apparatus were not beaming back images to the control center.

"TEPCO on Friday said it would resume the removal on Monday after replacing the cameras with new ones, the Asahi Shimbun daily and other local media reported.

"TEPCO officials could not immediately be reached to confirm the reports.

Safety of Fukushima #wastewater release in question

"Three of Fukushima's six reactors went into meltdown after a tsunami triggered by Japan's biggest earthquake on record swamped the facility in one of the world's worst atomic accidents.

"Japan last year began releasing into the #PacificOcean some of the 540 Olympic swimming pools' worth of contaminated reactor cooling water amassed since the catastrophe."

Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/japan-to-resume-trial-removal-of-radioactive-fukushima-nuclear-debris-amid-safety-concerns/ar-AA1sUYYO

#FukushimaIsntOver #NoDumping #FukushimaWastewater #TEPCOLies #PacificLivesMatter #WaterIsLife #RethinkNotRestart #TEPCO

MSN

Kudos to my friends at the #InternationalUraniumFilmFestival for bringing awareness of #nuclear issues AND being voted one of the "Coolest Film Festivals"!

"The International Uranium Film Festival (#IUFF) is one of the '25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World 2024'. Thanks to the prestigious MovieMaker Magazine in Hollywood, Los Angeles, which selects the Coolest Film Festivals every year. Founded in #RioDeJaneiro, the unique film festival, also known as #AtomicAgeCinemaFest, is the only film festival in #Brazil to receive this honor this year.

"'The Uranium Film Festival is certainly one of the most unique festivals we've ever had on our list, but its singular focus shines an important light on problems that unite communities all around the world — and in fact our entire world. In the year that #Oppenheimer dominated at the Oscars, it feels like the messages it has carried for years are gaining much wider interest and attention,' says Tim Molloy, Editor in Chief at MovieMaker Magazine.

"'You’ve never seen two people get more done than the life and project- partner duo #MárciaGomesDeOliveira and #NorbertGSuchanek, who run the International Uranium Film Festival in deep collaboration with #activists around the world. The festival has its grand event in Rio, but also does an extensive U.S. tour in regions impacted by #uranium-related industry. Inevitably, folks wonder whether there are enough films on the subject to warrant a festival. The answer is yes. This, of course, is because the issue is expansive, impacting all 50 U.S. states and many more corners of the world than most folks realize. From the #NavajoNation to #LasVegas to #Chicago and many places between, this spirited #DIYArt, #advocacy, and #activism project brings folks together in a space of support, education, #SharedOutrage, and a good time. The International Uranium Film Festival is a refreshing example of what activism and advocacy can be: inclusive, expansive, and celebratory,' writes filmmaker Hadley Austin for MovieMaker Magazine.

'“The International Uranium Film Festival (IUFF) is honored by this acknowledgement as one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals of 2024! Produced by Norbert Suchanek and Marcia Gomes de Oliviera and based in Rio de Janeiro, since 2011 the IUFF has provided a platform for more than 300 films in more than 50 cities in nine countries around the world: Germany, Brazil, India, Canada, United States, Portugal, Jordan, Denmark and Norway.' #LibbeHaLevy, Producer/Host, #NuclearHotseat and Ambassador to the USA for the International Uranium Film Festival."

Source:
https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/en/coolest-film-festival-in-the-world-2024

#WaterIsLife #FukushimaIsntOver #NoUraniumMining #NoDumping #NoNukes #NoWar #RethinkNotRestart

Coolest Film Festival in the world 2024 | International Uranium Film Festival

So, many years ago, I created a meme with the late #CorbinHarney, spiritual leader of the #WesternShoshone, and #IndigenousActivist against #YuccaMountain and #NuclearDisarmament. The only copies of the meme are very low resolution, so I decided to re-do the meme with a new image and type at a higher resolution.

“It’s in our backyard… It’s in our front yard. This #nuclear contamination is shortening all life. We’re going to have to unite as a people and say no more! We, the people, are going to have to put our thoughts together to save our planet here. We only have One Water… One Air… One #MotherEarth.”

- Corbin Harney (1920 - 2007), 
 Western Shoshone Spiritual Leader.

#ShundahaiNetwork #NuclearColonialism #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #Shoshone #NuclearWaste #Pauite #NoNukes #NoWar #NoDumping #EnvironmentalRacism #NoMiningWithoutConsent #NoDumpingWithoutConsent #ProtectTheSacred

Public comment extended to September 1st!

Environmental groups criticize #Hanford #nuclear waste cleanup plan

by Eric Tegethoff
Wednesday, July 24, 2024

"A new agreement on plans for cleaning up nuclear waste at the Hanford site in #WashingtonState is receiving pushback from #environmental groups.

"Public comment was originally scheduled to close at the beginning of August but has been extended to Sept. 1 for the Tri-Party Agreement between the U-S Energy Department, Environmental Protection Agency and Washington Department of Ecology.

"Simone Anter, staff attorney and Hanford program director for the nonprofit #ColumbiaRiverkeeper, said the new agreement means changes to the cleanup efforts including how and where the Hanford #NuclearWaste is stored.

"'If new proposals are coming out to ship either grouted or liquid nuclear waste across the region, communities deserve to know that and deserve to have a voice and deserve to be engaged,' Anter contended.

"The agreement for dealing with 177 underground storage tanks at Hanford took four years of closed door negotiations. Columbia #Riverkeeper and other environmental groups worry the new agreement opens the door for a storage method other than #vitrification, which is used to turn high-level waste into glass.

"Anter noted #TribalNations in the region were not consulted about the proposal. She stressed even if they could not be part of the agreement, the agencies should have been considered before it was presented to the public.

"'#Tribal nations are not members of the public. They are government entities and should have been treated as such,' Anter pointed out.

"Anter added members of the public can play a big role in how the 56 million gallons of nuclear waste at Hanford are handled.

"'It's really important that all these cleanup decisions put human health, the #ColumbiaRiver and the environment first,' Anter asserted. 'I think public comments play an enormous role in reminding the #TPA agencies about this."

Source:
https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2024-07-24/nuclear-waste/environmental-groups-criticize-hanford-nuclear-waste-cleanup-plan/a91457-1

#WaterIsLife #NoDumping
#FutureGenerations
#NoWar #NoNuclearWeapons
#RethinkNotRestart #NuclearWaste #HanfordNuclearSite

Environmental groups criticize Hanford nuclear waste cleanup plan

A new agreement on plans for cleaning up nuclear waste at the Hanford site in Washington state is receiving pushback from environmental groups. Public comment was originally scheduled to close at the beginning of August but has been extended to Sept. 1 for the Tri-Party Agreement between the U-S Energy Department, Environmental Protection Agency and Washington Department of Ecology. ...

Picture of the day: #Radioactive rally

Aug. 22, 2024
AP

"#SouthKorean environmental activists stage a rally Wednesday near a building which houses the Japanese Embassy, in Seoul, #SouthKorea, to demand Japan stop the release of treated #RadioactiveWater into the sea from the damaged #Fukushima #NuclearPowerPlant plant."

Archived version:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240821222140/https://japantoday.com/category/picture-of-the-day/radioactive-rally

#NoDumping #FukushimaWater
#PacificOcean #WaterIsLife
#Corporatism #Corruption
#JapanGovernment #TEPCOLies #OceansAreLife #bioaccumulation #bioconcentration

Radioactive rally

South Korean environmental activists stage a rally Wednesday near a building which houses the Japanese Embassy, in Seoul, South Korea, to demand Japan stop the release of treated radioactive water into the sea from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Japan Today

I see how it goes. When #China or #SouthKorea or other countries are concerned about #FukushimaDaiichi "treated" #RadioactiveWater #dumping and call into question #TEPCO's data, it's #propaganda against #Japan -- forgetting the FACT that #TEPCOLies -- and has been LYING for YEARS! Not sure why either #IAEA is believing TEPCO or maybe is complicit in hiding the data? Something's fishy (pun intended)!

#NoDumping #FukushimaWater
#PacificOcean #WaterIsLife
#Corporatism #Corruption
#JapanGovernment
#OceansAreLife #IAEAHides ? #DataFalsification

[PDF] National Association of Marine Laboratories
Position Paper

Scientific opposition to Japan’s planned release of over 1.3 million tons of radioactively contaminated water from the #FukushimaDaiIchi #NuclearPowerPlant
disaster into the #PacificOcean.

December 2022

“The National Association of Marine Laboratories (#NAML), an organization of more than
100 member laboratories, opposes Japan’s plans to begin releasing over 1.3 million tons of radioactively contaminated water from the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean commencing in 2023. This opposition is based on the fact that there is a lack of adequate and accurate scientific data supporting Japan’s assertion of safety.

"Furthermore, there is an abundance of data demonstrating serious concerns about releasing radioactively contaminated water.

“The Pacific Ocean is the largest continuous body of water on our planet, containing the greatest biomass of organisms of ecological, economic, and cultural value, including 70 percent of the world’s #fisheries. The health of all the world’s #OceanEcosystems is in documented decline due
to a variety of stressors, including climate change, over-exploitation of resources, and pollution.

"The proposed release of this #contaminated water is a #transboundary and #transgenerational issue of concern for the health of marine ecosystems and those whose lives and livelihoods depend on them. We are concerned about the absence of critical data on the radionuclide content of each tank, the Advanced Liquid Processing System, which is used to remove radionuclides, and the assumption that upon the release of the contaminated wastewater,
‘dilution is the solution to pollution.’

“The underlying rationale of #dilution ignores the reality of biological processes of #OrganicBinding,
#bioaccumulation, and #bioconcentration, as well as accumulation in local seafloor sediments. Many of the radionuclides contained in the accumulated waste cooling water have half-lives ranging from decades to centuries, and their deleterious effects range from #DNADamage and
#cellular stress to elevated #cancer risks in people who eat affected marine organisms, such as clams, oysters, crabs, lobster, shrimp, and fish.

"Additionally, the effectiveness of the Advanced Liquid Processing System in almost completely removing the over 60 different #radionuclides present in the affected wastewater—some of which have an affinity to target specific tissues, glands, organs, and metabolic pathways in #LivingOrganisms, including people—remains a
serious concern due to the absence of critical data.

"The supporting data provided by the Tokyo Electric Power Company and the #JapaneseGovernment are insufficient and, in some cases, incorrect, with flaws in sampling protocols, statistical design, sample analyses, and assumptions, which in turn lead to flaws in the
conclusion of safety and prevent a more thorough evaluation of better alternative approaches to disposal. A full range of approaches to addressing the problem of safely containing, storing, and disposing of the radioactive waste have not been adequately explored, and alternatives to ocean dumping should be examined in greater detail and with extensive scientific rigor.

“NAML calls on the Government of #Japan and International Atomic Energy Agency (#IAEA) scientists to more fully and adequately consider the options recommended by the #PacificIslandsForum’s Expert Panel. We believe public policy decisions, regulations, and actions must keep pace with and make use of relevant advancements in our scientific understanding of the #environment and human health. In this case, we believe policy makers have not fully availed themselves of the available science and should do so before making any final decisions on releasing this contaminated water into the Pacific. NAML members are unified in our concern about use of the oceans as a dumping ground for radioactively contaminated water and other #pollutants because such actions can negatively affect the long-term health and sustainability of
our planet.

“We urge the Government of Japan to stop pursuing their planned and precedent-setting release of the radioactively contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean and to work with the broader scientific community to pursue other approaches [like #ClosedLoop systems or binding radionuclides in concerete] that protect #OceanLife; human health; and
those communities who depend on ecologically, economically, and culturally valuable marine
resources. “

Adopted by the NAML Board of Directors, December 12, 2022

https://www.naml.org/policy/documents/2022-12-12%20Position%20Paper,%20Release%20of%20Radioactively%20Contaminated%20Water%20into%20the%20Ocean.pdf

#WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife
#IAEAHides #TEPCOLies
#FukushimaIsntOver #NoDumping #NuclearPowerPlants #RadioactiveWater #RethinkNotRestart #PacificOcean #DataFalsification #ALPSSystem