On Sunday, Japan's Ministry of the Environment stated that no radioactive substances were detected in the seawater near the Fukushima nuclear power station. Last Thursday, Japan began discharging wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power station into the Pacific Ocean, triggering protests from Japan and neighboring countries, and some countries and regions have banned the import of aquatic products from Japan.
Japanese scientific organizations have said that tests conducted on samples from 11 locations near the nuclear power station showed that tritium levels were below the detection limit of 7 to 8 becquerels per liter. The department added that this would not have an adverse effect on human health and the environment.
Environment Minister Akihiro Nishimura stated in a declaration that test results will be published weekly for the next three months, with monitoring to be conducted with "a high degree of objectivity, transparency, and reliability" to prevent adverse effects on Japan's reputation.
Tokyo Electric Power Company has stored about 1.3 million tons of contaminated water, enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The first batch of 7,800 cubic meters (equivalent to the capacity of 3 Olympic swimming pools) of nuclear wastewater began to be discharged last Thursday, with the operation expected to take about 17 days.
On Friday, the operator of the nuclear power station, Tokyo Electric Power Co, stated that the tritium levels in the seawater near the nuclear power station not only are below its own limit of 700 becquerels but also far below the World Health Organization's limit of 10,000 becquerels for drinking water.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that since Tokyo Electric Power Co began discharging nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean last Thursday, the Ministry has received a large number of phone complaints about the discharging event. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked certain countries' embassies in Japan to appeal to their citizens to remain calm.
