日本当地时间22日上午，日本原子能规制委员会正式批准了东京电力公司有关福岛第一核电站事故后的核污染水排海计划。Tanks storing treated radioactive water after it was used to cool the melted fuel are seen at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, on March 3, 2022. /CFP
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) of Japan on Friday officially approved the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)'s discharge plan for the treated Fukushima nuclear accident contaminated water.
The water, used to cool reactors in the aftermath of the 2011 nuclear disaster, is being stored in huge tanks in the plant, and amounted to more than 1.3 million tonnes by July.The regulators deemed it safe to release the water, which will still contain traces of tritium after treatment, the foreign ministry said in a statement.Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) will face additional inspections by regulators, it added.TEPCO plans to filter the contaminated water to remove harmful isotopes apart from tritium, which is hard to remove.Then it will be diluted and released to free up plant space and allow decommissioning to continue.Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi (2nd-R) stands in front of the storage tanks for radioactive water as he visits the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, May 19, 2022. /CFP
20日下午，国际原子能机构总干事格罗西在结束对日本为期3天的访问行程前，在东京举行记者会。格罗西强调，日本民众和周边国家、地区有权利对日本核污染水排海计划感到担忧，国际原子能机构将继续对日本的排海计划进行验证。格罗西表示：（福岛当地居民）应当得到最大限度的尊重。他们在福岛核电站事故发生的第一时间，就受到了心理创伤，并且之后也将一直受到影响。周边国家和地区有权利（对核污染水排海计划）感到担忧。
格罗西说，国际原子能机构将继续对日本的排海计划进行验证，这一过程包括排放前、排放期间以及排放后，整个将长达几十年时间。
对于核污染水排海计划被批准这一结果，22日有日本民众在会场外举行抗议集会，反对核污染水排海。The plan has encountered stiff resistance from fishing unions in the region which fear its impact on their livelihoods.日本民众 乾喜美子：我们反对排污入海，全世界的海洋是相连的，说氚等放射性物质经过处理已经安全，但很多学者说核污染水会危害身体健康，所以我们坚决反对。日本民众 木村雅英：很多人表示反对，核污染水已经保管了这么多年却要排放入海，一旦扩散是无法回收的，决不能做这种愚蠢的事情，所以我们坚决反对将核污染水排放入海，不能再污染海洋污染地球了。日本民众 冈田俊子：如果将核污染水排放入海，不仅是日本的问题，也关系到邻国，日本很多海产品无法再食用，也会给邻国带来麻烦，我们深感愧疚。
中国外交部：极不负责，坚决反对
同日，中国外交部发言人汪文斌表示，自去年4月日本政府作出向海洋排放福岛核污染水错误决定以来，国际社会以及日本国内民众的质疑和反对一直没有停止。
他指出，令人遗憾的是，日方始终对国际社会和日本国内民众的正当关切和合理诉求置若罔闻，非但没有同利益攸关方和有关国际机构进行充分有意义的协商，反而一意孤行推进排海管道建设和排海计划审批工作。日方这种置各方关切于不顾，企图制造既定事实的做法极其不负责任，我们对此坚决反对。汪文斌强调，如果日方执意将自身的私利凌驾于国际公共利益之上，执意要迈出危险的一步，必将为自己不负责任的行为付出代价，留下历史污点。"It's extremely irresponsible for Japan to discard other parties' concerns and attempt to make it an established fact. We firmly oppose it," said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of China's foreign ministry. "The disposal of Fukishima's nuclear wastewater concerns the global oceanic environment and the public health of countries around the Pacific Ocean."It's absolutely not Japan's own business. China urges Japan to fulfill it due international obligations," he added.