The United States, which supported Japan’s discharge of Fukushima contaminated water, actually blocked similar discharge within its own country. The reason was that it could harm the health of the American people.
This is a report from New York correspondent Beomju Kim.
<Reporter>
This is a nuclear power plant in New York, USA that was in operation for 60 years and closed two years ago and began dismantling.
There has been recent controversy over how to dispose of the 5,000 tons of radioactive wastewater generated when cooling spent fuel rods during the dismantling process.
That building behind me is the nuclear power plant.
The company in charge of decommissioning announced메이저놀이터 that it would discharge contaminated water from that power plant into the Hudson River.
The contaminated water then flows into the sea via New York City, 40km to the south.
The company claimed there was no problem because the wastewater was scientifically reprocessed.
[Rich Brony/Demolition Company Representative: We act based on science and facts. It will only emit radionuclides less than 1% of the government standard.]
However, communities bordering the river strongly opposed it.
In particular, they argued that the wastewater should be left in storage, saying that tritium contained in contaminated water can cause cancer in women and children.
[Richard Becker/Doctor, Regional Supervisor: No one knows what impact dumping wastewater into the river will have in the short or long term. Not today, but there will be a better way to handle it in the future.]
The result was a victory for the residents.
The state legislature unanimously passed a law prohibiting discharge, and the governor subsequently signed the law, saying, “We must protect the river for future generations.”
It is evaluated as an example of America’s double standards, saying that Fukushima across the sea is okay, but next to New York is not.