United Nations special rapporteurs have urged the Japanese government to delay a decision on the potential ocean dumping of waste water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant until the global COVID-19 pandemic has ended, according to a statement published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th June, 2020) United Nations special rapporteurs have urged the Japanese government to delay a decision on the potential ocean dumping of waste water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant until the global COVID-19 pandemic has ended, according to a statement published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday.
"We are deeply concerned by reports that the Government of Japan has accelerated its timeline for the release of radioactive waste water into the ocean without time or opportunity for meaningful consultations," four UN officials, including Baskut Tuncak, special rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes, said in the joint statement.
The Japanese government's proposals to dump waste water from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant, the site of a grave disaster in 2011, require further consultation that can only take place once the global pandemic has passed, the UN officials said.
"We call on the government of Japan to give proper space and opportunity for consultations on the disposal of nuclear waste that will likely affect people and peoples both inside and outside of Japan," the statement read.
The South Korean government currently has a ban on the import of Japanese seafood products from the areas that were affected by the 2011 disaster, which resulted in the large-scale release of radioactive materials into the atmosphere.
Efforts are ongoing to clean up the area around the Fukushima Daiichi plant, where three nuclear reactors melted down after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in the Pacific Ocean on March 11, 2011 caused a massive tsunami that damaged the facility.
