Focus Taiwan
Date: 11/09/2020
By: Fan Cheng-hsiang and Chiang Yi-ching

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) Taiwan's Atomic Energy Council said Monday it will continue to contact Japan on how the country plans to deal with contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which is expected to run out of storage space in 2022.

The power plant has been shut down since it experienced a nuclear meltdown in 2011 after Japan was hit by a massive tsunami and earthquake, and it currently stores more than 1 million cubic meters of water containing tritium, a radioactive variant of hydrogen.

Tritium cannot be removed from water with existing technology, but because it poses a relatively low risk to human health, it is common for nuclear plants to dump water with tritium into the ocean after diluting it.

The Fukushima plant's plan to dump its stored water that way has received pushback from people who live in the region, especially fishermen, who fear that it will damage the region's reputation, according to local media reports.    [FULL  STORY]