Lips Sealed Tight: On August 19, Tomofumi Nishinaga, a minister for economic affairs at the Embassy of Japan, summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs enters the ministry building in Doryeom-dong, Seoul with his lips sealed tight. Yonhap News

On August 19, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned an official from the Japanese Embassy and officially requested a detailed explanation on the Japanese government's plans concerning the radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

This day, Kwon Sei-joong, director-general of climate change, energy, environment, and scientific affairs at the foreign ministry called Tomofumi Nishinaga, a minister for economic affairs at the Japanese Embassy to the foreign ministry office and delivered a note verbale containing the South Korean government's position on the treatment of the contaminated water from Fukushima. In the note, the foreign ministry pointed out, "We realize that the treatment of the radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant will have an extremely serious impact on the health and safety of both our people and on the entire nation, connected by the sea,” and requested a reply on whether the Japanese government had any plans to release the radioactive water into the sea.

The foreign ministry also asked the Japanese government to provide the international community with a more transparent and specific explanation on overall measures including future plans concerning the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

The ministry's request followed concerns recently raised by press reports and international environmental groups that Japan planned to release the contaminated water from Fukushima into the ocean. Shaun Burnie, chief nuclear expert at the Greenpeace office in Germany, recently argued in his contribution to The Economist that the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) were planning to release 1 million tons of high-level radioactive water stored in Fukushima Unit 1 into the Pacific Ocean. He also mentioned that it would be particularly difficult for South Korea to escape the dangers.

Reportedly, Minister Nishinaga explained, "Greenpeace's argument is not the official position of the Japanese government." The minister further argued that the Japanese government fully explained related details to the diplomatic missions in Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He added, "It is not true that Japan is not making an effort to share information."

The radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant is comprised of the cooling water injected to cool the nuclear reactor and the groundwater flowing in from the vicinity. Since the explosion at the nuclear power plant in 2011, TEPCO has been storing the contaminated water at the site of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1, but 170 tons of radioactive water is generated daily, and the company is expected to reach its storage capacity by 2022.

The Japanese government is reportedly considering a number of options on the treatment of the radioactive water, which include releasing it into the sea, releasing it into the air, electrolysis, burying it after it is solidified, and long-term storage in storage tanks.

▶ 최신 뉴스 ▶ 두고 두고 읽는 뉴스 ▶ 인기 무료만화

©경향신문(www.khan.co.kr), 무단전재 및 재배포 금지