Impact on generations! Environmental experts explain the crisis behind Japan's nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea

According to Japanese media reports, if weather conditions permit, Japan's nuclear contaminated water discharge will begin at 13:00 on August 24. According to the plan, the discharge will last at least 30 years.

Related topics have exploded on the Internet, with many netizens saying "We can no longer eat seafood" and "The worst hit are marine life"... What impact will the discharge of nuclear contaminated water have on global seafood and the environment? Can we still happily eat seafood sashimi in the future? In this regard, NetEase Health specially consulted Shang Qi, a researcher at the Institute of Environment, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Danger! With the Minamata disease as a lesson, Japan's discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea will cause lasting harm to humans

Shang Qi: First of all, there are similar painful lessons in history. In 1956, the Minamata disease that shocked the world by causing cats to go crazy and people to become insane appeared in Minamata Bay, Japan. It was the earliest public health disease caused by industrial wastewater pollution.

We know that the ocean is a large ecosystem with many levels of food chains. After enrichment in the food chain, the weak concentration of harmful substances in the ocean will be accumulated to a very high concentration. Minamata disease is a typical example. At that time, the concentration of mercury discharged by the factory was very low, but after enrichment in the food chain, according to literature reports, the concentration of harmful substances exceeded 300,000 times. Therefore, local fishermen ate contaminated seafood, which led to the occurrence of Minamata disease.

Minamata disease is a disease that damages the central and peripheral nerves of the brain. In mild cases, the patient suffers from slurred speech, facial dementia, paralysis of the hands and feet, and loss of vision. In severe cases, the patient suffers from neurological disorders, body bending and screaming, and even death. In addition, the descendants of Minamata disease patients are also doomed to fail. The disease is highly hereditary and may cause congenital Minamata disease in infants, with symptoms similar to polio. Therefore, it will take time to eliminate the impact of Minamata disease.

The Japanese government plans to discharge the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the ocean. This is a very dangerous move that will cause two major problems.

1. Cause trouble to society

Because radioactive nuclides are discharged into the ocean along with nuclear contaminated water, regulatory authorities need to conduct targeted supervision and monitoring of the marine environment, seafood, etc., which increases social management costs.

2. Cause health problems

According to a report by the Japan Broadcasting Association TV station, in February 2021, the radioactive cesium content detected in black fish caught from the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan reached 500 becquerels per kilogram, which is five times higher than Japan's standard for radioactive substances in food. Radioactive nuclides can cause changes and damage to the genes of marine organisms, causing devastating pollution. At the same time, it also increases the potential food safety risks in the human food chain system, which in turn leads to increased risks to human health. The harm caused is persistent and difficult to disappear in the short term.

Danger! Dilution of radioactive nuclide concentration in nuclear contaminated water does not mean a reduction in total emissions, so the danger still exists

Shang Qi: Some experts believe that Japan's nuclear contaminated water has reached a relatively safe dilution standard and the risk of discharge is very low. In fact, this is not the case.

Although the concentration of radionuclides in the planned nuclear contaminated water has been diluted, the total amount of these substances discharged into the sea will not decrease. Although the initial concentration of the discharge is very low, the discharged substances are long-lasting and harmful. Over time, they will be enriched to a very high concentration through the marine food chain system, which may reach tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of times the initial concentration. In the end, eating these seafood will still cause high health risks.

For example, tuna, which is often eaten by everyone, is at a high level in the food chain system. If its living environment is polluted by nuclear contaminated water, it is likely that its radioactive nuclide content will be very high, causing a greater food safety risk.

Crisis! The nuclear contaminated water has the greatest impact on the Japanese sea area? Too naive! The living environment of all mankind will face a huge crisis

Shang Qi: It cannot be simply understood. The closer the sea is to Japan, the greater the risk of seafood being contaminated.

We understand that the nuclear contaminated water to be discharged contains many long-term radioactive nuclides such as radioactive carbon-14 and tritium, which will exist in marine life for a long time and gradually spread to the world's oceans with the movement of ocean currents and the movement of marine life such as fish. Therefore, after a certain period of time, the content of pollutants will reach the global average, and humans cannot control this process. Therefore, not only seafood in Japanese waters will be affected, but the world's oceans will gradually be polluted, and the human living environment will face a huge crisis.

We all live in the same global village. No one is a bystander or an outsider in the incident of Japan's discharge of contaminated water into the sea. The Japanese government should solve the problem of the generation of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant as soon as possible, instead of just discharging it into the sea.