South Korea has expressed deep concern to Japan after its electrical company Tepco on Tuesday requested regulatory approval to release treated radioactive water from Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.
South Korea held an emergency Vice Ministerial meeting and the country’s nuclear safety chiefl affirmed their stance on the matter.
“To share the main points of the letter, we’ve requested that during the process of collecting opinions, in addition to Japan, other countries’ opinions should be taken into account as well as. while cooperating with the international community. In addition, we requested that relevant information should be transparent, and Japan be cooperative and prompt to South Korea’s request to confirm the release is safe.”
This was the second time South Korea used its nuclear safety commission as a means to send a message to Japan.
The first time was earlier this year when Japan said it had decided to push for the discharge of more than 1 million tons of the water into the ocean.
Tepco’s appeal for regulatory approval this time around was around 500 pages long detailing how the water will be released as well as the extent of the dilution process.
The firm said pumps would move the treated water from the tanks to the seashore and through a seabed tunnel before releasing it at a depth of 12 meters, and about 1 kilometer out at sea.
South Korean authorities plan on examining the appeal thoroughly and will request additional information.
They will also strengthen its watch over the level of radioactivity in the sea.
Currently it has 32 spots in coastal waters to check for levels of tritium and cesium, and it is planning to add 2 more spots with more frequent checks being carried out.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.
Reporter : tkim@arirang.com
Source: http://www.arirang.com/news/News_View.asp?nseq=289920
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