The Japanese Ministry of Environment announced on Sunday that tests conducted on seawater near the Fukushima nuclear power plant did not detect any radioactivity, following days of discharging treated water that had been used to cool nuclear reactors. Japan began discharging water from the stricken Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, which sparked protests within Japan and in neighboring countries, prompting China to ban imports of aquatic products from Japan.
Tests by the Ministry of Environment on samples taken from 11 locations near the plant concluded that the concentrations of radioactive tritium isotopes were below the minimum detectable level of 7 to 8 becquerels of tritium per liter. The ministry stated that seawater "will have no negative impact on human health and the environment."
An official told Reuters on Sunday that the ministry will publish test results weekly for at least the next three months and will then review the timing of any further disclosures. The Japanese Fisheries Agency noted that examinations of fish from the waters surrounding the plant showed no abnormalities and tests conducted by the agency on Saturday indicated that the fish did not contain detectable levels of tritium.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which operates the plant, reported on Friday that the seawater near the facility contained less than 10 becquerels of tritium per liter, which is below the limit the company set for itself of 700 becquerels and significantly lower than the World Health Organization's guideline for drinking water of 10,000 becquerels. TEPCO stated today that it has not observed any significant changes. The Fukushima Prefecture also published results from tests at nine sites near the plant showing that tritium was below detectable limits.
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Japanese offices have received a barrage of phone calls, particularly from China, expressing complaints about the water discharge and added that it has asked the Chinese embassy in Japan to urge citizens in China to remain calm.
