Many things are set to take place in 2023, one of them being Japan’s release of nuclear waste into the Pacific Ocean.[1]
Nuclear reactors work by controlling nuclear fission to create heat.[2] The heat is then used to produce steam that spins the turbine to generate electricity.[3] To maintain a consistent chain reaction and control the heat created in the nuclear reactors, the fuel rods inside of the reactor are submerged in water.[4] In 2011, Japan experienced a catastrophic meltdown of the nuclear plant at Fukushima Daiichi due to a tsunami.[5] Although the factory was shut down, the corroded reactors have remained hot due to the occurrence of long-term nuclear fission.[6] To cool the reactors, Japan has continuously used large quantities of water for the past decade, which has led to an accumulation of radioactive wastewater.[7]
Japan has been storing this highly radioactive water in containers near the nuclear reactor, accumulating 1.2 million tons of wastewater since the Fukushima meltdown.[8] Recently, Japan passed legislation indicating that once the 1.2 million tons of wastewater are treated, they will be dumped into the Pacific Ocean over a period of 30 years.[9] Although nuclear wastewater has been disposed of in this way before,[10] 1.2 million tons has never been disposed of in this manner and the unknown environmental effects could be detrimental to human and marine animal health. [11]
The material to be disposed of is radioactive waste that will be treated by the time of disposal.[12] However, treating the waste will not remove all radioactive components from the water it is dumped into.[13] Radionuclides will remain and inevitably interact with the environment. [14] Japan has stated they will remove as much as possible, but the government acknowledged that some particles they deemed to be low-risk will be distributed into the Pacific Ocean.[15]
The dumping of nuclear wastewater into the ocean is not authorized by international tribunals.[16] The London Convention and the London Protocol effectively ban the uncontrolled disposal of waste into the ocean[17] by prohibiting the dumping of waste with more than a de minimis amount of radioactivity.[18] Japan is planning to dispose of waste into the ocean slowly over time to appear to acquiesce to the de minimis standard.[19] However, Japan will dump 1.2 million tons of radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean and over time, this will aggressively exceed the de minimis standard.[20]
Widely known and accepted safe methods of disposal involve the containment of the nuclear waste in different capacities.[21] The most respected methods involve geological containment underground with engineered and natural barriers to isolate the waste from the environment, in order to avoid any potential catastrophe.[22] Low-level waste is most often disposed of at ground level or below ground level.[23] The long-lived radioactive decay of the waste encourages deeper disposal sites that reach up to 5000 meters into the Earth’s surface for maximum isolation and deprivation of oxygen for maximum safety.[24] Temporary disposal techniques include storage ponds at reactors, dry storage in casks or vaults, and storage canisters.[25]
These accepted storage techniques all have one thing in common: they isolate radioactive material from humans and the environment.[26] Sea disposal does not do this. And 1.2 million tons of unregulated and unrestricted radioactive waste has the potential for global devastation. [27] Disposal into the ocean will create hazards for other countries in the region and potentially the entire world. [28] Marine life could have their DNA altered or damaged, which could severely impact the fishing industry, an industry people rely on for their livelihoods. [29] The exposure to toxicity could also increase cancers in humans. [30]
A better plan would involve the good faith cooperation of the international community in a comprehensive effort to handle the waste using a proven method involving containment and isolation.
Julia Wanamaker is a staff member of Fordham International Law Journal Volume XLVI.
[1]Pete McKenzie, In the Pacific, Outcry Over Japan’s Plan to Release Fukushima Wastewater, N,Y. Times (Dec. 30, 2022), https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/30/world/asia/japan-fukushima-wastewater-pacific-radiation.html.
[2]Nuclear 101: How Does a Nuclear Reactor Work?, Office of Nuclear Energy (Mar. 29, 2021), https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/nuclear-101-how-does-nuclear-reactor-work#:~:text=Inside%20the%20reactor%20vessel%2C%20the,to%20sustain%20the%20chain%20reaction.
[3]Id.
[4]Id.
[5] McKenzie, supra note 1.
[6]Awadhesh Jha, Nuclear power: how might radioactive waste water affect the environment?, The Conversation (Apr. 30, 2021, 9:25 AM), https://theconversation.com/nuclear-power-how-might-radioactive-waste-water-affect-the-environment-159483.
[7]Id.
[8]Shaun Burnie, The Japanese government and the Fukushima nuclear disaster – History repeating itself?, Greenpeace (Nov. 17, 2021), https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/50827/japanese-government-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-history/.
[9]Id.
[10]Jha, supra note 6.
[11]Id.
[12]Id.
[13]Jha, supra note 6.
[14]Id.
[15]McKenzie, supra note 1.
[16] Ocean Dumping: International Treaties, Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/ocean-dumping/ocean-dumping-international-treaties#:~:text=The%20London%20Convention%20and%20London%20Protocol%20prohibit%20the%20dumping%20of,de%20minimis%20levels%20of%20radionuclides (last updated Mar. 8, 2022).
[17]Id.
[18]Id.
[19]Id.
[20]Id.
[21]Storage and Disposal of Radioactive Waste, World Nuclear Organization, https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-waste/storage-and-disposal-of-radioactive-waste.aspx#:~:text=Storage%20of%20used%20fuel%20is,the%20most%20radioactive%20waste%20produced (last updated May 2021).
[22]Id.
[23]Id.
[24]Id.
[25]Id.
[26]Id.
[27]Jha, supra note 6.
[28]Id.
[29]Id.
[30]Id.
This is a student blog post and in no way represents the views of the Fordham International Law Journal.