Original title: Blue Room Observation丨Important Breakthrough! The Japanese side agreed to China's independent sampling and monitoring
On August 24 last year, the Japan Government ignored strong opposition and doubts at home and abroad and insisted on starting the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, China has conducted more than 10 rounds of intensive negotiations and consultations with Japan and relevant international organizations, and has made important breakthroughs in the comprehensive establishment of long-term international monitoring arrangements.
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Over the past year, Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has discharged nuclear-contaminated water eight times, with a total discharge of more than 60,000 tons, causing unprecedented spillover effects far beyond Japan's territory or jurisdiction, and Japan is imposing the risk of nuclear contamination on the world. During the discharge of the sea, the frequent safety accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant exposed serious problems such as TEPCO's chaotic management and poor supervision, which also made Japan's claim that the discharge was "safe and reliable" at all.
It is also worrying that the assessment and monitoring of the discharge is incomplete, and there is a lack of transparency and credibility due to the limitations of the relevant international mechanisms in place.
The Chinese government has continued to urge Japan to fully cooperate in the establishment of a long-term international monitoring arrangement with the substantive participation of its neighbors and other stakeholders in bilateral exchanges at all levels and on various professional and multilateral occasions.
It is worth noting that this content is reflected in the consensus document issued by China and Japan on the 20th, in which the Japanese side promised to "welcome the establishment of a long-term international monitoring arrangement under the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) covering key aspects of the sea discharge, and will ensure the effective participation of all stakeholders such as China and the implementation of independent sampling monitoring and laboratory analysis and comparison of these participating countries." According to expert analysis, this is an important breakthrough.
Xiang Haoyu, a distinguished researcher at the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said in an interview with Blue Room Watch: "Since the Japanese side insisted on starting the process of discharging the nuclear contaminated water from Fukushima into the sea, China has always made clear its opposition and actively promoted the establishment of an international monitoring arrangement for the entire process of discharging nuclear contaminated water into the sea in the international community. Through China's independent sampling survey, as well as the participation of other relevant stakeholders, this is the first time in human history that an international multilateral regulatory system has been formed around such a major nuclear safety accident. ”
Luo Zhiping, director of the Institute of Nuclear Safety and Environmental Engineering and Technology of the China Institute of Atomic Energy, told the "Blue Hall Observer" reporter: "Everyone is concerned about the impact of polluted water on the environment and aquatic products, including ecology, so in order to judge whether there is an impact, the most important support or the most critical support is the monitoring data, including the monitoring data of marine seawater, including the monitoring data of aquatic products." Since Japan decided to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, we have been fighting for such a right to independent sampling and monitoring, but Japan has been opposed before, so this time, especially since the release of the consensus, it is clear that we can implement independent sampling and monitoring in the future, which should be a very important breakthrough. In the future, we will be able to participate independently in all monitoring processes, from sampling to monitoring, which can greatly improve the accuracy and reliability of its data. The second reason is that because it will take a long time to discharge into the sea, 30 years according to the plan, then independent sampling and monitoring will help to supervise the long-term discharge process in the future. Once an abnormality is detected, some necessary measures can be taken, so it makes perfect sense. ”
IAEA Director General Grossi also issued a statement on the 20th, emphasizing that the IAEA will strengthen coordination with China, actively implement the bilateral consensus between China and Japan, take additional measures on the basis of the existing international monitoring measures against Japan, and promote China and other stakeholders to play a greater role to ensure that Japan's discharge into the sea strictly abides by international nuclear safety norms.
Regarding marine environmental issues, experts revealed that the mainland has already established a marine environmental radioactivity monitoring network to monitor the waters under the jurisdiction of the mainland, especially since Japan's unilateral decision to discharge Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the sea in 2021, relevant departments have further strengthened monitoring measures in a targeted manner.
Yang Duanjie, deputy chief engineer of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said in an interview with the Blue Room Observer: "In order to protect the health of our people, our country has also taken many measures to strengthen the monitoring of the marine environment. In particular, on the basis of the existing radiological monitoring network of the marine environment, we have expanded the scope of monitoring, increased the frequency of monitoring, increased the number of monitoring points, and also included some types of nuclides. Since 2021, the results of monitoring have shown that no anomalies have been found in the radioactivity levels of the environment in the waters under the jurisdiction of the mainland. ”
The discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima into the sea is a global issue that requires the joint efforts of the international community. The Chinese side said that it will continue to engage in dialogue with the Japanese side in a scientific manner with the international community, especially interested countries, and urge the Japanese side to properly handle the concerns related to the discharge into the sea.
Producer丨Sun Yanfeng Zhang Lin
Editor-in-Chief丨Zhao Jing
Reporter丨Zhao Jing and Sun Yutong
Source: CCTV News