Ocean dump
BERTCHEN KOHRS FROM EARTHLIFE NAMIBIA WRITES:
We remember 11th March 2011, when an earthquake and a tsunami led to a nuclear fuel meltdown in three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.
The entire power supply and cooling failed, causing a nuclear crisis that continues to this day and far beyond. Since the accident, 1.34 million tonnes of radioactive contaminated cooling water are stored in over 1 000 tanks on the site of the wrecked nuclear power plant in Fukushima. The destroyed reactors must remain cooled, an additional 170 tonnes of contaminated water are added daily. For a long time, the world held its breath and feared it; the time had come on 24th August 2023: the Japanese government began to dump the contaminated water from the nuclear disaster into the Pacific Ocean, with the approval of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is responsible, among others, for promoting high standards for global nuclear safety.
It will take at least 30 years to dump all the water contaminated with tritium, strontium-90 and carbon-14 in the Pacific. No one knows today what havoc this will cause. The immediate and long-term consequences of dumping radioactive water into the sea are unpredictable. Only one thing is certain, complex and strong ocean currents will spread the radioactivity throughout the Pacific and beyond. The Japanese government is dodging its responsibility to dispose of the contaminated water in an environmentally friendly way, opting instead for the interests of the nuclear industry. No question, with the many outdated nuclear power plants still in operation, there will be more nuclear catastrophes. It is unforgivable that the hazards of nuclear power will be passed on to the environment and future generations.
* Rubrieke, meningstukke, briewe en SMS’e deur lesers en meningvormers weerspieël nie noodwendig die siening van Republikein of Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) nie. As mediahuis onderskryf NMH die etiese kode vir Namibiese media, soos toegepas deur die Media-ombudsman.
We remember 11th March 2011, when an earthquake and a tsunami led to a nuclear fuel meltdown in three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.
The entire power supply and cooling failed, causing a nuclear crisis that continues to this day and far beyond. Since the accident, 1.34 million tonnes of radioactive contaminated cooling water are stored in over 1 000 tanks on the site of the wrecked nuclear power plant in Fukushima. The destroyed reactors must remain cooled, an additional 170 tonnes of contaminated water are added daily. For a long time, the world held its breath and feared it; the time had come on 24th August 2023: the Japanese government began to dump the contaminated water from the nuclear disaster into the Pacific Ocean, with the approval of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is responsible, among others, for promoting high standards for global nuclear safety.
It will take at least 30 years to dump all the water contaminated with tritium, strontium-90 and carbon-14 in the Pacific. No one knows today what havoc this will cause. The immediate and long-term consequences of dumping radioactive water into the sea are unpredictable. Only one thing is certain, complex and strong ocean currents will spread the radioactivity throughout the Pacific and beyond. The Japanese government is dodging its responsibility to dispose of the contaminated water in an environmentally friendly way, opting instead for the interests of the nuclear industry. No question, with the many outdated nuclear power plants still in operation, there will be more nuclear catastrophes. It is unforgivable that the hazards of nuclear power will be passed on to the environment and future generations.
* Rubrieke, meningstukke, briewe en SMS’e deur lesers en meningvormers weerspieël nie noodwendig die siening van Republikein of Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) nie. As mediahuis onderskryf NMH die etiese kode vir Namibiese media, soos toegepas deur die Media-ombudsman.
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