Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stated that Japan is planning on gradually releasing over 1,000,000 tonnes of water from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear powerplant in either the spring or summer this year. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the proposal is considered safe as other nuclear powerplants around the world also utilize a similar method of disposing of wastewater containing low levels of radionuclides, but neighboring nations such as South Korea and China have voiced their concern over the proposal while Japanese fishermen said that the move could potentially destroy their livelihoods. Some locals also worry that the releasing of the water could tarnish the reputation of locally-produced foods and goods. 

According to the nuclear powerplant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, radioactive materials in the water with the exception of tritium, which Tepco says is harmless in small amounts, will be removed from the water before the water is diluted to standards meeting international standards and is ultimately released gradually through a pipe that leads to an offshore outlet. Tritium is a naturally occurring, rare radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is technically difficult to separate from water. On the contrary, some scientists and medical professionals say that the long-term effect of low-dose exposure to tritium on the environment and humans is not yet known, and have been requesting a delay in the plans until further research or an alternative course of action could be taken. 

Japanese officials state that in order to decommission the powerplant destroyed in the magnitude 9.0 earthquake almost 12 years ago, the wastewater at the plant stored in over 1,000 tanks must first be removed. Each day, about 100 cubic meters of contaminated water used to cool the nuclear reactors is collected, filtered and stored in the tanks. However, local media reports and official statements say that the storage space is quickly running out. 

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