IAEA report on Japan's nuclear-contaminated water discharge has limitations and partiality: Chinese official

BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The report on the disposal of nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has limitations and partiality in relevant conclusions, said an official from the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA).

Deng Ge, secretary general of the CAEA, said that the IAEA invited experts from multiple countries to participate in the review mission of the discharge of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water, however, the report does not fully reflect the opinions and comments of all the experts, and the CAEA expresses regret over the hasty release of such a report by the IAEA.

He said that, firstly, Japan did not justify its decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. The Japanese side deliberately restricted the IAEA task force for the review of the ocean discharge plan, to the exclusion of other potential options. Even though the IAEA recognized that the ocean discharge plan is in compliance with relevant international safety standards, it cannot prove that the ocean discharge plan is the only and optimal option for treating nuclear-contaminated water.

"Second, Japan did not justify the long-term effectiveness and reliability of the treatment facility," Deng said.

He added that the data released by Japan shows that over 70 percent of the treated water does not meet standards and needs further treatment. The efficacy and reliability of the performance of the purification facility will decline further with the corrosion and aging of the facility in the course of future long-term operations.

Third, Japan did not justify the authenticity and accuracy of the data of the nuclear-contaminated water, the official said.

Deng added that the IAEA has only carried out a review and assessment of the data and information provided unilaterally by Japan, and conducted inter-laboratory comparisons for a small amount of samples of nuclear-contaminated water collected unilaterally by Japan. Under such circumstances the authenticity of data and the accuracy of information remains to be verified and independence and representativeness of sampling are seriously insufficient, the report is far from convincing.

Fourth, Japan did not justify that the ocean discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is safe and harmless to the marine environment and human health.

Deng said that the nuclear-contaminated water contains over 60 radionuclides. There is not yet effective technology to treat many of those radionuclides. Some long-lived radionuclides may spread with the ocean currents and cause uncertain impacts on the ecological balance of coastal waters of Japan's neighboring countries and may form a bio-concentration and pose potential hazards to food safety and human health.

China urges Japan to face up to the legitimate concerns of the international community, and the opinions and advice from the IAEA and other authoritative international professional agencies, he said.

China also calls on the IAEA to establish independent and effective long-term international monitoring arrangements led by the IAEA with the full participation of third-party laboratories from Japan's neighboring countries as soon as possible, attach importance to the views of experts from various countries, and take into full consideration the concerns and participation of stakeholders including Japan's neighboring countries and Pacific island countries, Deng said.