Fishermen want to be included in TEPCO's decisions

January 27, 2015

Fishers submit request over TEPCO wastewater plan

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html

Jan. 27, 2015 - Updated 11:21 UTC+1

Japanese fishers have demanded that the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant gain their understanding before releasing decontaminated water into the sea.

The head of a national federation of fisheries cooperatives, Hiroshi Kishi, submitted the request to industry minister Yoichi Miyazawa on Tuesday.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority last week released a plan to discharge decontaminated water below government standards into the nearby Pacific from 2017 or later. The measure is aimed at reducing the amount of water stored in tanks at the plant's compound.

Tokyo Electric Power Company is operating wastewater treatment systems called ALPS to remove most radioactive substances, resulting in a huge number of storage tanks in the compound.

The fishers' federation says the plan is deplorable and strongly requests that the operator not release the water without the understanding of the fishers and others.

Miyazawa said there's no change to the policy of gaining local approval in carrying out measures against wastewater and not allowing easy release.

After the talks, Kishi said he was relieved to hear the minister's remarks. He stressed that at the moment fishers do not approve the idea of releasing decontaminated water even if it meets government standards. He added that he wants the nuclear regulators as well to know that.