Radioactive discharge from Fukushima nuclear plant raising concerns on California coast
A controversial plan to release more than one million tons of treated radioactive water into the sea is now underway in Japan, giving scientists here in the Bay Area pause as well as those who seek escape on the open water.
Near Fort Cronkhite in the Marin Headlands recently, surfer Jason Gittens contemplated what is means to be able to enjoy the open oceans. For him, the Pacific Ocean is a treasure.
"It's like my church. I've been at it for so long, this is where I come to get peace of mind, this is where I come to get exercise, this is where I come to basically let everything wash off me," he explained.
But as Gittens plunged into the waves off the California coast, roughly 5,000 miles west of him on a different coast - but the same ocean - a controversy is churning.
Recently, protestors have gathered in Tokyo and in parts of South Korea. They oppose Japan's release of more than a million tons of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean which started on August 24.
Soon after, China announced a ban on all imported Japanese fish because of the release.
That prompted the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, to go shopping for Fukushima fish in a supermarket and to chow down sushi to show support for Japan in front of the news media.
"Water from this area is safer than [the water which] the four plants in China dumps untreated into the ocean," exclaimed Emanuel.
Twelve years ago, a huge earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, devastating towns, and killing an estimated 20,000 people.
The tsunami flooded the Daiichi nuclear power plant located in Fukushima. The tsunami destroyed the power supply and the all-important cooling system, which resulted in a major nuclear accident.
"Three of the reactors melted down, another one kind of exploded its top. And it's a very serious, serious incident. The most serious incident since Chernobyl," noted Dr. Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress, a nuclear physicist who is a scientist-in-residence at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. He also teaches at the Institute's James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
The damaged reactors are still hot. There is a massive amount of melted nuclear fuel and fuel debris inside them and they require constant cooling.
'Water was used to cool the reactors and it is still needed to cool the reactors," explained UC Berkeley nuclear engineering professor Dr. Kal Vetter. The water used for cooling turns radioactive.
Vetter researches the development and demonstration of new technologies in radiation detection that may be relevant in the mapping of contaminated areas in Fukushima and the Daiichi plant.
"The water is cooling the molten cores of the Fukushima reactors from the time of the accident," said Dr. Arjun Makhijani. "It's coming into direct contact with highly radioactive fission products and plutonium. So that's why the water gets extremely radioactive."
Makhijani is a nuclear fusion expert and president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER).
In addition to the cooling water that is pumped inside, groundwater has seeped into the site, and rainwater has fallen on the damaged reactors and turbines. All this water is now contaminated with radioactivity. The tainted water is collected, filtered, and stored on-site in specially prepared tanks.
So far, roughly 1,000 tanks have been built for this purpose, but they are all reaching capacity in this earthquake-prone land which is at risk for tsunamis. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) needs to empty the tanks and make space for the decommissioning of the power plant.
The filtration process is known as Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). Before the water is released into the ocean, officials said it would be treated with ALPS to remove most of the radioactivity. But it won't be able to remove one radionuclide called tritium.
The discharging of the radioactive waters will take at least 30 years and will be controlled and monitored not just by Japanese officials, but by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"The monitoring remains critical," advised Vetter, who - along with most scientists - believe that the risk to the ocean, the marine environment, and creatures, including the food we eat, remains very low with this plan. The ocean will further dilute the contamination to acceptable safe standards.
"I'm certainly in favor of release because of the minimal risk and minimal impact of the releases to the ocean," said Vetter
However, Makhijani and Dalnoki-Veress remain concerned. Both belong to a panel of experts representing the Pacific Islands Forum. The panel consulted with Japan over its intentions to release treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean and found the decision to release "regrettable."
"There's a lot of things that can go wrong," said Dalnoki-Veress.
Tritiated water remains a concern for the panel. Makhijani recently wrote the book "Exploring Tritium's Danger," which challenges many long-held beliefs about the radioactive substance. He maintains that the impacts of tritium on human health, especially when taken into the body, warrant much more attention.
Makhijani told CBS News Bay Area that in addition to the discharges, we all must pay more attention to what else we're putting into the oceans.
"Because it's not just this dumping,' he said. "The oceans are under extreme stress. They're under heat stress. They're under acid stress, they're under plastic stress."
The oceans cover 72% of the earth and supplies half its oxygen. They also absorb 50 times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere.
A recent poll conducted by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and Consortium on the Ocean's Role in Climate found Americans care deeply about the ocean and that the majority worry about how climate change is impacting the ocean's health.
All the experts with whom CBS News Bay Area spoke stressed there is no risk to the fisheries off the California Coast. On the other hand, they agreed that there is severe economic and reputational harm to the Japanese fishing industry.
As for Gittens, he stressed how it's time for us all to rethink our oceans.
"We used to think in the old days, "Out of sight, out of mind." And they just dump stuff in the ocean," said Gittens. "Well, now it's not so out-of-sight, and going forward, I worry about my kids. Are they going to enjoy the ocean as much as I do?"
All the experts who spoke to CBS News Bay Area agreed that the situation in Fukushima and the concepts are complicated. They all recommend learning about the nuclear accident and the contamination from reputable sources that may not all agree.
There are small steps we all can take to protect our oceans. Here are ten ways suggested by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).