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The release of treated radioactive water -

On August 24, 2023, 12 years after a devastating earthquake and tsunami seriously damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the plant's operator, started releasing treated radioactive water from the crippled facility into the Pacific Ocean.

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Is the water safe? -

TEPCO insists the water is safe after the use of the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), which removes nearly all traces of radiation from the wastewater.

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A 30-year deposit -

Over the next 30 years, it's estimated that over one million tonnes of treated wastewater—currently stored in dozens of special tanks within the plant—will be released into the Pacific.

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Japan faces seafood ban -

Although greenlighted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, the move has sparked protests in the region and retaliation from China, who said it would block all imports of seafood from Japan.

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Dirty water -

The problem stems from the fact that after the earthquake and tsunami struck the power plant on March 11, 2011, several nuclear reactors melted down. To avert further disaster, workers flooded the reactors with water, and that water quickly became highly contaminated.

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Voicing concerns -

Shortly after TEPCO's announcement, demonstrators in Tokyo gathered outside the company headquarters to voice their concerns. TEPCO has been based in the Japanese capital since its founding in 1951.

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Origins of Fukushima Daiichi -

In 1961, the town councils of Futaba and Ōkuma in Fukushima prefecture invited TEPCO to build a nuclear power plant. In 1967, construction began on unit 1 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. By 1971, the facility was beginning to take shape (pictured).

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Construction process -

In this photograph, the first phase of the power plant's sea wall is seen under construction. This defensive structure would later fall under intense scrutiny for its inability to withstand an intense tsunami.

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Fukushima Daiichi comes online -

The plant reactors came online one at a time, the first in 1970 and the last in 1979. By 1980, Fukushima Daiichi was fully operational.

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Fully operational -

This 2004 aerial view shows in detail the nuclear power plant's reactor housings and the seawall fronting the facility.

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Fukushima city -

While the town of Ōkuma is the actual site of Fukushima Daiichi, the nuclear power plant is in fact named for Fukushima prefecture, the capital city of which is Fukushima.

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Mount Bandai -

Fukushima prefecture lures tourists with numerous natural wonders. At 1,819 m (5,968 ft), Mount Bandai is one of Japan's most famous mountains.

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Lake Inawashiro -

Located south of Mount Bandai is Lake Inawashiro, the country's fourth-largest lake and affectionately known by locals as the "Heavenly Mirror Lake."

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The scenic Tadami Line -

The Tadami Line scenic railway connects destinations in Fukushima prefecture with those in Niigata prefecture. It's one of the region's most popular visitor attractions.

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A closed river -

While these landmarks and attractions were spared by the events of March 11, 2011, the Abukuma River, which runs through Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, wasn't so fortunate. Japan's sixth longest river was closed to fishing for 10 years due to radioactive contamination. In fact, for most of this period people avoided contact with the river altogether. It reopened in 2021.

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March 11, 2011 -

On March 11, 2011, Japan experienced the strongest earthquake in its recorded history. Measuring 9.0–9.1 on the Richter scale, the quake and subsequent tsunami devastated much of Japan's Tōhoku region.

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A mighty wall of water -

The initial tremors were followed by a tsunami so powerful it produced waves up to 40 m (132 ft) in height.

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Breaching the seawalls -

These monstrous walls of water destroyed thousands of homes, businesses, roads, and railways. And the giant ocean surge easily breached the seawalls guarding the nuclear power plant.

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A disaster caught on camera -

The breach by the tsunami of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was caught by television news cameras, recordings that later also included the moment part of the facility exploded.

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The meltdown begins -

The disaster sequence began with the cooling systems of No 1 and No 3 reactors failing after the earthquake.

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Rocked by explosions -

The following day, March 12, No 1 reactor was rocked by an explosion when technicians were venting steam to cool the reactor.

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Fukushima blows its top! -

The containment chamber was not damaged, but part of the outer concrete shell was blown off.

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A dangerous reaction -

Fuel rods inside reactors 1 and 3, meanwhile, continued to heat the water, and engineers rushed to use seawater as an emergency coolant.

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Contaminated coolant -

This same seawater is now the treated wastewater Japanese authorities are releasing into the Pacific Ocean.

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Radiation worry -

Fortunately, there were no deaths from radiation exposure in the immediate aftermath of the incident. However, radiation levels are still monitored daily by TEPCO staff members outside the tsunami-crippled reactors.

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Limited health risk -

In its 2020 report on the radiological consequences from the Fukushima accident, the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) concluded that "no adverse health effects among Fukushima residents have been documented that could be directly attributed to radiation exposure from the accident."

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Lessons learned -

A number of nuclear reactor safety system lessons emerged from the March 11, 2011, incident. The most obvious, according to analysis published by the office of Environmental Science and Technology, was that in tsunami-prone areas, a power station's seawall must be adequately tall and robust.

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The decommissioning process -

Meanwhile, decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power is ongoing. Fuel debris remains in the Unit 1–3 reactors, but cooling water is being contiguously injected and keeping the wreckage stable. The unfortunate legacy of the accident, however, is that a large area around the power plant will be uninhabitable for at least 100 years.

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Awful death toll -

More widely, according to official figures released by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency in 2021, 19,759 people lost their lives as result of that terrible day in March 2011.

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In remembrance -

On March 11, 2021, the 10th anniversary of the disaster, Japan's Emperor Naruhito, accompanied by Empress Masako, delivered a speech in front of the altar for victims of the earthquake and tsunami at the national memorial service held in the National Theatre of Japan in Tokyo.

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What of the future? -

But as TEPCO continues to release treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean—part of its nearly US$150 billion effort to clean up the impacted region—flags like this one blessing the safety of fishermen can be found fluttering half-mast along the coast of Fukushima prefecture, symbolic perhaps of the unpredictable future facing many in the wake of the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Sources: (CNN) (IAEA) (National Geographic) (UNSCEAR) (Environmental Science and Technology) (Living on Earth) (Fire and Disaster Management Agency)

See also: Chernobyl—see what remains all these years later

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