Member for Nipa Kutubu Dr Billy Joseph has condemned the dumping of “partially treated” nuclear waste by the Government of Japan in the Pacific.
Dr Billy in a statement said Japan is being very irresponsible in dumping partially treated nuclear waste in the Pacific.
“We are reminded of the events of 1946 and 1958, the United States detonated 67 nuclear bombs on, in and above the Marshall Islands — vaporizing whole islands, carving craters into its shallow lagoons and exiling hundreds of people from their homes; many have eventually died of cancer, especially thyroid cancer.
“More than any other place, the Marshall Islands is a victim of the two greatest threats facing humanity — nuclear weapons and climate change.”
“If we are not careful, the story of Marshall Island will be the story of the Pacific,” he said.
It is believed that the Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was reportedly very unreliable in terms of transparency in its reporting and handling of the disaster.
According to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCER) Report 2020; about 80 percent of the radioactive waste discharged from Fukushima has been eventually deposited over the Pacific.
Treatment is supposed to remove radionuclides but experts have doubted whether treatment can remove radioisotopes like carbon-14 and Tritium; an isotope of hydrogen.
ALPS Multi Nuclide removal equipment; removes 62 types of radioactive materials including strontium and Caesium; but not carbon 14 and Tritium.
Dr Billy said over the course of the next 30 years; we will learn the result of this great experiment in the Pacific by a superpower.
“Human rights for the tiny Pacific counties and duty of care from the industrialized countries should be the major talking point on the issue.
He stressed that lest we forget; two of Earth’s existential threats arise from the actions of industrialized countries;
- Nuclear weapons
- Climate Change
“When will small nations rally together and hold industrialized nations to account?” Dr Billy asked.