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Fukushima residents worry over releasing plant wastewater

Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were mixed amid uncertainty over how seafood consumers will respond to the release of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the ocean. The plant, which was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, began sending the treated water into the Pacific on Thursday despite protests at home and in nearby countries that are adding political and diplomatic pressures to the economic worries. The Associated Press has the story:

Fukushima residents worry over releasing plant wastewater

Newslooks- IWAKI, Japan (AP)

Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were mixed amid uncertainty over how seafood consumers will respond to the release of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the ocean.

Puffer fish caught by an angler fishes are seen at Onahama Port in Iwaki, northeastern Japan, 68 kilometers (42 miles) from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Friday somehow dipped amid uncertainty about how consumers may respond a day after release to sea of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater began despite protests at home and in neighboring countries.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The plant, which was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, began sending the treated water into the Pacific on Thursday despite protests at home and in nearby countries that are adding political and diplomatic pressures to the economic worries.

Hideaki Igari, a middleman at the Numanouchi fishing port, said the price of larger flounder, Fukushima’s signature fish known as Joban-mono, was more than 10% lower at the Friday morning auction, the first since the water release began. Prices of some average-size flounder rose, but presumably due to a limited catch, says Igari. Others fell.

Anglers prepare to fish at Numanouchi port, Iwaki, northeastern Japan, near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant started releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

It was a relatively calm market reaction to the water release. But, Igari said, “we still have to see how it goes next week.”

The decadeslong release has been strongly opposed by fishing groups and criticized by neighboring countries. China immediately banned imports of seafood from Japan in response, adding to worries in the fisheries community and related businesses.

Hideaki Igari, fish market middleman, speaks with the Associated Press at Numanouchi port, Iwaki, northeastern Japan, near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. Igari said prices for flounder, among Fukushima’s signature fish known as Joban-mono, was about 10% lower on Friday at a morning auction, first since the Fukushima Daiichi started releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In Seoul on Saturday, thousands of South Koreans took to the streets to condemn the release of wastewater and to criticize the South Korean government for endorsing the plan. The protesters called on Japan to store radioactive water in tanks instead of releasing it into the Pacific Ocean.

A citizens’ radiation testing center in Japan said it’s getting inquiries and expects more people might bring in food, water and other samples as radiation data is now a key barometer for what to eat.

A worker cleans a fishing boat at Numanouchi port, Iwaki, northeastern Japan, near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Friday somehow dipped amid uncertainty about how consumers may respond a day after release to sea of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater began despite protests at home and in neighboring countries. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japanese fishing groups fear the release will do more harm to the reputation of seafood from the Fukushima area. They are still striving to repair the damage to their businesses from the meltdown at the power plant after the earthquake and tsunami.

“We now have this water after all these years of struggle when the fish market price is finally becoming stable,” Igari said after Friday’s auction. “Fisheries people fear that prices of the fish they catch for their living may crash again, and worry about their future living.”

Katsumasa Okawa, owner of Okawa Fish Store, arranges fish products at his store in Iwaki, northeastern Japan on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Friday somehow dipped amid uncertainty about how consumers may respond a day after release to sea of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater began despite protests at home and in neighboring countries. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The Japanese government and the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, say the water must be released to make way for the facility’s decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks of insufficiently treated water. Much of tank-held water still contains radioactive materials exceeding releasable levels.

Some wastewater at the plant is recycled as coolant after treatment, and the rest is stored in around 1,000 tanks, which are filled to 98% of their 1.37 million-ton capacity. The tanks cover much of the complex and must be cleared out to make room for new facilities needed for the decommissioning process, officials say.

Katsumasa Okawa, owner of Okawa Fish Store, serves a fish dish to a customer at his restaurant in Iwaki, northeastern Japan on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Friday somehow dipped amid uncertainty about how consumers may respond a day after release to sea of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater began despite protests at home and in neighboring countries. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Authorities say the wastewater after treatment and dilution is safer than international standards require, and that its environmental impact will be negligible. On Friday, the first seawater samples collected after the release were significantly below the legally releasable levels, the power company said.

But, having suffered a series of accidental and intended releases of contaminated water from the plant early in the disaster, hard feelings and distrust of the government and TEPCO run deep in Fukushima — especially in the fishing community.

A fisherman anchors his fishing boat at Numanouchi port, Iwaki, northeastern Japan, near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Friday somehow dipped amid uncertainty about how consumers may respond a day after release to sea of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater began despite protests at home and in neighboring countries. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

TEPCO says the release will take 30 years, or until the end of the plant decommissioning. People fear that could mean a tough future for youths in the fishing town, where many businesses are family-run.

Fukushima’s current catch already is only about one-fifth its pre-disaster level due to a decline in the number of fishers and decreased catch sizes.

The government has allocated 80 billion yen ($550 million) to support fisheries and seafood processing, and to combat potential reputation damage by sponsoring campaigns to promote Fukushima’s Joban-mono and processed seafood. TEPCO has promised to deal with reputational damage claims, and those hurt by China’s export ban.

Tetsu Nozaki, head of the Fukushima prefectural fisheries cooperatives, said in a statement that worries of the fishing community will continue for as long as the water is released.

Seawater samples taken from near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, are seen at Mothers’ Radiation Lab Fukushima, known as a citizens’ testing center Tarachine, in Iwaki, northeastern Japan on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. Tritium tests were being conducted on water samples, including seawater samples off the Fukushima Daiichi that the lab has been collecting independently since 2015. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

“Our only wish is to continue fishing for generations in our home town, like we used to before the accident,” Nozaki said.

Fish prices largely depend on the sentiment of wholesalers and consumers in the Tokyo region, where large portions of the Fukushima catch goes.

At the Friday auction at the Numanouchi port, the price for flounder was down from its usual level of about 3,500 yen ($24) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) to around 3,000 yen ($20), said Igari, the middleman.

“I suspect the result is because of the start of the treated water release from the Fukushima Daiichi and fear about its impact,” he said.

A staff prepares to test a sample soil taken near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, at Mothers’ Radiation Lab Fukushima, known as a citizens’ testing center Tarachine, in Iwaki, northeastern Japan on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant started releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Igari said the discharge is discouraging but hopes careful testing can prove the safety of their fish. “From the consumers’ point of view about food safety at home, I think the best barometer is data,” he said.

At Mother’s Radiation Lab Fukushima in Iwaki, a citizens’ testing center known as Tarachine, tests were being conducted on water samples, including on tritium levels for seawater that the lab collected from just off the Fukushima Daiichi plant before the release.

Lab director Ai Kimura said anyone can bring in food, water or even soil, though the lab has big backlogs because testing take time.

Ai Kimura, director of Mother’s Radiation Lab Fukushima, known as a citizens’ testing center Tarachine, speaks at her lab in Iwaki, northeastern Japan on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. At the center, tritium tests were being conducted on water samples, including seawater samples off the Fukushima Daiichi that the lab has been collecting independently since 2015.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

She joined the lab after regretting she might not have fully protected her daughters because of the lack of information and knowledge earlier in the disaster. She says having independent test results is important not because of distrust of government data, but because “we learned over the past 12 years the importance of testing in order to get data” on what mothers want to know for serving safe and healthy food to their children and families.

Kimura said people have different views about safety — some are fine with government standards, others want them to be as close to zero as possible.

“It’s very difficult to make everyone feel safe. … That’s why we conduct testing so we can visualize data on food from different places and help people have more options to make a decision,” she said.

Katsumasa Okawa, owner of Okawa Fish Store, serves a fish dish to a customer at his restaurant in Iwaki, northeastern Japan on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Friday somehow dipped amid uncertainty about how consumers may respond a day after release to sea of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater began despite protests at home and in neighboring countries.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Kimura said the lab’s testing has shown Fukushima fish to be safe over the past few years, and she happily eats local fish.

“It’s totally fine to eat fish that does not contain radiation,” she said.

But now the treated wastewater release will bring new questions, she said.

Aeon, a major supermarket chain that has been testing cesium and iodine levels in fish, announced plans to also test for tritium, a radionuclide inseparable from water.

A staff of Mothers’ Radiation Lab Fukushima, known as a citizens’ testing center Tarachine, tests sample seawater taken near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, at the testing center, with a liquid scintillation analyzer in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant started releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Katsumasa Okawa, a fish store and restaurant operator who was at one of his four shops Thursday, said customers were sparse after the plant started its final steps of the treated water release at 1 p.m. and media reports covered the development.

But on Friday, he said, his Yamako seafood restaurant next to Iwaki’s main train station seemed to be doing business as usual, with customers coming in and out during lunchtime.

Okawa said he’s been looking forward to the wastewater draining as a big step toward decommissioning the nuclear plant. “I feel more at ease thinking those tanks will finally go away.”

A staff of Mothers’ Radiation Lab Fukushima, known as a citizens’ testing center Tarachine, tests sample seawater taken near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, in Iwaki, northeastern Japan on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. At the center, tritium tests were being conducted on water samples, including seawater samples off the Fukushima Daiichi that the lab has been collecting independently since 2015.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Okawa, who said he did voluntary testing of his products for a number of years after the disaster, is worried about returning to the days of radiation testing and data as a benchmark of what to eat.

“I think too much testing data only triggers concerns,” he said. “I’m confident about what I sell and I will just keep up the work.”

Some people say they want to eat good fish and not worry.

Bus driver Hideki Tanaka, on vacation and fishing at another Iwaki port of Onagawa, said he hoped to catch horse mackerel.

“If you worry too much, you can’t eat fish from anywhere,” he said.

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