Fukushima nuclear plant: Is flushing out wastewater safe?
Aug 23, 2023•20 min
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Episode description
Japan is due to start releasing treated radioactive water from Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, despite opposition from neighbouring countries.
A 9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan's east coast in 2011, killing 18,000 people and displacing a further 150,000 from an exclusion zone around the plant.
Some 1.34 million tonnes of water - enough to fill 500 Olympic-size pools - have been stored in tanks since a tsunami destroyed the plant, but space is now running out. The water will be released over a 30-year period after being filtered and diluted.
On the Sky News Daily with Niall Paterson, our Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith describes the mood in neighbouring countries opposing the water release.
Plus, Jim Smith, professor of environmental science at the University of Portsmouth dispels concerns about the levels of radiation, insisting there is no need to worry.
Producer: Soila Apparicio
Interviews Producer: Alex Edden
Editor: Philly Beaumont
A 9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan's east coast in 2011, killing 18,000 people and displacing a further 150,000 from an exclusion zone around the plant.
Some 1.34 million tonnes of water - enough to fill 500 Olympic-size pools - have been stored in tanks since a tsunami destroyed the plant, but space is now running out. The water will be released over a 30-year period after being filtered and diluted.
On the Sky News Daily with Niall Paterson, our Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith describes the mood in neighbouring countries opposing the water release.
Plus, Jim Smith, professor of environmental science at the University of Portsmouth dispels concerns about the levels of radiation, insisting there is no need to worry.
Producer: Soila Apparicio
Interviews Producer: Alex Edden
Editor: Philly Beaumont
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