Rep. Yoon Jae-gap of Haenam, Wan-do and Jin-do proposed a bill on the provision of support to fishermen victims following release of Fukushima’s radioactive water.
The measure is intended to amend the National Fiscal Act, which would lay a legal foundation for raising funds to support the fishermen on behalf of other lawmakers.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), having verified Japan’s plans to release the treated radioactive water into the sea, on July 4 sent to Japan a report that they are consistent with IAEA safety standards.
Despite opposition from neighboring countries, 1.33 tons of treated radioactive water stored at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) is to be released into the sea over a 30-year period.
According to the IAEA report, the water stored at the FDNPS has been treated through an Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove almost all radioactivity, aside from tritium, before being discharged. Japan will dilute the water to bring the tritium to below regulatory standards, it said.
Meanwhile, Japan, claiming the treated water is safe, is preparing for about 4 trillion won in a funds to compensate possible damages, caused by the release, to protect Japanese fishermen.
Rep. Yoon said Korea’s proposed law would establish a fisheries safety management regime, such as monitoring radioactivity related to the release of the treated water, and required marking of the origin of fishery items imported from Japan, take appropriate steps to support fishermen victims and polluted marine environment and create a legal foundation for effectively restoring any damages.
A view of the first unit of the Fukushima Nuclear Power, which began to discharge treated radioactive water on Aug. 24. (Photos: Yonhap News Agency)
Explaining the background for submitting the bill, Rep. Yoon said stopping Japan’s release of the radioactive water into the sea is the top priority, but in the case Japan forces its plans, the proposed special act is designed to protect people’s health and safety and assist fishermen victims.
As for Japan’s plans to release the treated radioactive water from FDNPS into the sea from Aug. 24, the IAEA made it clear that the agency will continue on-site surveillance and evaluation activities from the first day of releasing the water to see whether the water will be consistent with international safety standards.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a report sent to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on July 4 that the release of the treated water would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.
The report is the results of two years of work by an IAEA task force made up of top specialists from within the agency, advised by internationally recognized nuclear safety experts from 11 countries.
They reviewed Japan’s plans against IAEA Safety Standards, which serve as a global reference for protecting people and the environment and contribute to a harmonized high level of safety worldwide.
“Based on its comprehensive assessment, the IAEA has concluded that the approach and activities to the discharge of ALPS treated water taken by Japan are consistent with relevant international safety standards,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a foreword of the report.
“Furthermore, the IAEA notes the controlled, gradual discharges of the treated water to the sea, as currently planned and assessed by TEPCO, would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment,” he added.
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