Stop Radioactive discharge from Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean: IDPD

Ludhiana, August 26, 2023: The Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) condemns in strong words the Japanese government’s decision to release radioactive discharge from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific ocean. Dr Arun Mitra-President and Dr Shakeel Ur Rahman-General secretary in the statement said this will have serious detrimental impact on the flora and fauna of the ocean around Japan and other countries and adversely impact the human health. 

There will be serious ramifications for a long  time to come. A team of experts had already warned that this will be devastating. They had also suggested the methods to store this for long time to come including storage in purpose-built seismically safe tanks, possibly after initial purification, subsequent use in concrete for structural applications with little or no potential for contact with humans and other organisms, and bioremediation for some important isotopes such as strontium-90. All the proposed alternatives would have orders of magnitude less impact and avoid trans-boundary impacts. But the Japanese government has not paid heed to it. 

This has also exposed the myth of utility of nuclear power plants and the propaganda that they are eco-friendly. We have already seen several such accidents of small scale and two big accidents in 3 mile Island and Chernobyl. The nuclear plant can also be a potential nuclear bomb as is the danger during the on-going Russia Ukraine war because where the power plants in Ukraine are under direct threat. Any such accident cold be catastrophic. We demand complete shift to the renewable energy sources instead of nuclear power plants. We urge Indian government to take up the matter with Japanese government and stop the Fukushima radioactive discharge into the Pacific Ocean.