Taiwan is ramping up tests for water quality and marine wildlife health ahead of plans by Japan to release treated radioactive water into the ocean. The Council of Agriculture said on Monday that it has more than doubled tests on fish over the past year, while the number of water sample points has more than quadrupled.
The rise in tests comes two years before Japan is planning to release over one million tons of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The plant suffered a triple meltdown in 2011 after a severe earthquake and tsunami. Last Tuesday, Japan announced that it would release treated radioactive water from the plant into the ocean at the end of 2022.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has endorsed the plans, saying that it’s common practise. But environmental groups like Greenpeace say that the contaminated water poses risks to the environment and people’s health.
In a report to the legislature on Monday, Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung said the increase in testing is a necessary step. He says the data will provide a normal “baseline” figure for water and marine wildlife health in Taiwanese waters. Then, if contaminated water from Japan affects Taiwanese produce, Taiwan will have a strong scientific basis to ask for compensation.
Taiwan’s government says that the contaminated water could affect 260,000 tons of fish a year, with a total value of NT$14 billion (US$500 million).