Amid backlash, Japan releases more treated radioactive waste into oceans

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Despite voices of concern, Japan on Wednesday released more treated radioactive water into the oceans from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

This is the “last discharge for the fiscal year ending March,” the Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) said the discharge will continue for around 17 days and “meets the standards set by the government and the utility.”

Last week, the Japanese government issued a stern warning Tuesday to TEPCO after a leak of contaminated water from the plant.

Tokyo’s move to begin the release of treated radioactive water into the oceans last August had triggered severe criticism with China imposing a blanket ban on imports of seafood from Japan.

The plant has more than 1 million tons of treated wastewater to release in a 30-year process.

The Fukushima plant was forced to shut down after facing the largest nuclear accident since 1986 in Chernobyl following an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Beijing has said Japan's disposal of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the surrounding ocean poses a risk "not only for human health, but also for the global marine environment and international public interests.”