Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2011 April 13 - 19 TOP3 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Sea dumping of radioactive water violates London Treaty

Japanese Communist Party representative Yoshii Hidekatsu on April 13 in the House of Representatives Committee on the Cabinet criticized the release of “low-level” radioactive water into the sea (conducted between April 4 and 10) as having violated an international treaty regulation.

Yoshii pointed out that the Convention on Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention) prohibits the sea dumping of high-, intermediate- and low-level radioactive waste.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio replied, “The need was compelling.”

Yoshii asked the government to reveal specific and detailed data in order to judge if the level of radioactivity in the contaminated water was really “low-level”.

Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) Director Terasaka Nobuaki said that “it will take time” to identify them, except the already disclosed iodine and cesium.

Yoshii said, “Don’t you know what types of radioactive substances TEPCO discharged into the sea? Do you approve everything TEPCO does?”

On May 16, 1996 during a Lower House Science and Technology Committee meeting, the JCP representative was stressing the need to implement measures to prevent sea pollution from radiation leakage.

The government spokesman in regard to this said, “It wasn’t appropriate for past governments to have neglected implementing measures to prevent radioactive water from being dumped in the ocean.”