Not Just Japan, These Countries Dump Nuclear Waste into the Sea

Japan came under international scrutiny after announcing the release of nuclear wastewater into the ocean in August 2023.

The wastewater is treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco).

Tepco claims that before being released into the sea, the wastewater was processed using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), resulting in contamination levels that meet safety standards.

After the ALPS process, Tepco's wastewater is claimed to be contaminated only with residual radioactive material called "tritium," and its concentration is far lower than the World Health Organization (WHO)'s drinking water contamination standard.

The WHO sets the safe standard for tritium contamination in drinking water for humans at a maximum of 10,000 Becquerel/Bq (radioactive unit) per liter. Meanwhile, the tritium level in Tepco's nuclear wastewater is below 1,500 Bq per liter.

This has also been confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an autonomous body in the field of global nuclear cooperation.

"The impact of the discharge (of the treated Tepco wastewater) on humans is consistent with international safety standards," said the IAEA team in their report, *Comprehensive Report on the Safety Review of the ALPS-Treated Water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station* (July 2023).

However, Japan is not the only country that discharges tritium-containing nuclear wastewater into the sea.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), major nuclear energy-producing countries generally do the same.

"At nuclear facilities, both domestically and internationally, tritium is discharged as liquid waste into rivers and seas, and discharged into the atmosphere through ventilation processes, in accordance with the laws of each country," said the METI team in their presentation document, *What is ALPS Treated Water?* published on their official website.

The following is a list of countries that discharged liquid tritium nuclear waste into rivers and seas in 2021, based on data compiled by METI:

* France: 10,042 trillion Becquerel/Bq (radioactive unit)
* Canada: 1,760 trillion Bq
* China: 304 trillion Bq
* Romania: 130 trillion Bq
* South Korea: 120 trillion Bq
* United States: 43.4 trillion Bq
* Taiwan: 35 trillion Bq
* Spain: 25.6 trillion Bq
* Slovenia: 16 trillion Bq
* Germany: 1.1 trillion Bq

According to METI data, Japan did not discharge tritium in 2021. However, the government has implemented a regulation that limits tritium discharge into rivers and seas to a maximum of 22 trillion Bq per year.

The figures above only include the amount of liquid tritium waste, excluding tritium waste in steam form released into the atmosphere from nuclear facilities.