Chinese UN mission releases working paper on Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater issue

China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN) and Other International Organizations in Vienna has submitted the working paper on the disposal of nuclear-contaminated water of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station to the First Preparatory Committee for the Eleventh Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

The?disposal?of?nuclear-contaminated?water?from?Fukushima concerns the?global?marine?environment?and?public?health.?There?is?no?precedent?for?artificially?discharging?nuclear-contaminated?water?into?the?ocean?and?no?internationally?recognized?disposal?standards.?The?international?community?should?attach?great?importance?to?Japan's?ocean?discharge?of?the?nuclear-contaminated?water?and?urge?Japan?to?dispose?of?the?contaminated?water?in?a?responsible?manner, according to the working paper released on Wednesday.

The working paper pointed out that Japan?had?previously discussed?five?ways?to?dispose?of?the contaminated?water,?namely?injection?into?the?ground,?discharge?into?the?ocean,?vapor?release,?release?as?hydrogen?gas?into?the?atmosphere,?and?underground?burial.?However,?Japan?did?not?conduct a?thorough?study?of?all?disposal?options?and?insisted?on?choosing?ocean?dumping, which was the lowest cost option,?thus?transferring?the?risk?of?nuclear?contamination?to?the?whole?world.?

If?the?so-called?"treated-water"?is?really?safe?and?harmless,?why?does?Japan?not?dispose?of?it?within?its?own?territory?or?use?it?for?industrial?and?agricultural?purposes? The working paper pointed out.

The paper noted that Japan?fails?to?prove?the?long-term?effectiveness?and?reliability?of?the?purification?equipment?for?treating?the?contaminated?water.?According?to?the?data?released?by?Japan,?nearly?70?percent?of?the?nuclear-contaminated?water?treated?by?Japan's?ALPS?(Advanced?Liquid?Processing?System) still?fails?to?meet?the?discharge?standard?and?needs?to?be?purified?again.?

Japan?has failed?to?prove?the?authenticity?and?accuracy?of?the?data?on?contaminated?water.?Fukushima power plant operator TEPCO?has?repeatedly?concealed?and?falsified?nuclear-contaminated?water?related?data?in?recent?years.?The?IAEA?conducted?its?review?and?assessment?solely?based?on?the?data?and?information?provided?by?Japan,?and carried?out?inter-laboratory?comparative?analyses?of?only?a?small?number?of?nuclear-contaminated?water?samples?collected?by?Japanese officials, read the working paper.

According?to?general?international?law?and?the?provisions?of?UN Convention?on?the?Law?of?the?Sea,?Japan?has?the?obligation?to?protect?and?preserve?the?marine?environment.?The?Convention?on?the?Prevention?of?Marine?Pollution?by?Dumping?of?Wastes?and?Other?Matter?1972?(the?London?Convention)?prohibits?the?dumping?of?radioactive?waste?into?the?sea?by?means?of?man-made?structures?at?sea.?Japan's?discharging?of?nuclear-contaminated?water?into?the?sea?by?means?of?submarine?pipelines?is?in?violation?of?the?relevant?provisions?of?the?London?Convention.

Japan has failed to?demonstrate?the?perfection?of?the?monitoring?program. Tokyo ?must?not?start?discharging?until?the?long-term?monitoring?mechanism?is?established,?and?must?stop?discharging?water?once?anomalies?are?detected?in?the?data?on?the?discharge?of?nuclear?contaminated?water.

The Chinese UN mission stressed that Japan?should?not?confuse?the?concept?of?nuclear-contaminated?wastewater?with?the?wastewater?from?the?normal?operation?of?nuclear?power?plants.

The working paper warned Japan?of not?making?use?of?IAEA's?comprehensive?assessment?report?on?the?disposal?of?Fukushima?nuclear-contaminated?water?as?"shield"?or?"greenlight"?for?the?dumping?plan.?

In addition, the paper urged Japan to fully?respond?to?the?concerns of?China?and?the?international?community,?and?dispose?of?the?nuclear-contaminated?water?in?a?responsible?manner?in?line?with?its?obligations?under?international?law,?stop?pushing?through?the dumping?plan,?fully?consult?with?stakeholders?including?neighboring?countries,?make?sure?to?handle?the?nuclear?contaminated?water?in?a?science-based,?safe?and?transparent?way,?and?subject?itself?to?rigorous?international?oversight.