South Korea greenlights Japan’s nuclear waste release

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Ending doubts over Seoul’s position on Japan’s release of nuclear waste, South Korea Friday said Tokyo’s plans on crippled Fukushima nuclear plant “meet international standards.”

“After a review of the treatment plan of contaminated water presented by Japan so far, the total concentration level of radioactive materials of Japan's plan would meet the standards for a release into the ocean,” Bang Moon-kyu, South Korea's policy coordination minister, told a news conference, according to Yonhap news agency.

Seoul’s green signal to Tokyo’s release of treated nuclear waste comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said such discharge into the sea will have a “negligible” impact on people and the environment.

China, however, has opposed the move and imposed a ban on imports of seafood from 10 Japanese regions.

South Korea had sent a delegation of experts for on-site inspection of the plant, and also considered the IAEA report on the issue.

Beijing called the IAEA report “limited,” saying it was not a “greenlight” to go ahead with its plans.

Japan plans to release the accumulated radioactive water this summer.

The South Korean minister said Tokyo’s plan has been “confirmed to meet international standards, including those of the IAEA.”

“The result of the simulation shows it would take around four to five years and up to 10 years in order for the contaminated water to reach our seawater and have an effect,” Bang said. It would "not have any meaningful impact," he added.