South Korean shores will be little affected even if the radioactive water from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant is released into the sea because ocean currents would carry it away, an official said Thursday.
Outlining several simulations conducted by scientists from both home and abroad, Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said it would take approximately 10 years for the discharged contaminated water to reach South Korean waters.
“The reason why we are not significantly affected is due to ocean currents, even though it is located right next to Japan,” Park told a daily briefing on the Fukushima issue.
Since the plant is situated on Japan’s eastern coast, the Kuroshio ocean current would carry the discharged water toward the western coast of North America, Park said. From there, it would travel southward before reaching the Southeast Asia region over a long period of time.
Park said there are very few studies and simulations that suggest the discharged water could reach South Korean waters in four to five years in cases where the ocean current interacts with the warm current.
Park emphasized that the radiation levels in South Korean waters have remained unchanged over the past 10 years, even after a significant release of radiation following the severe damage caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
In regards to a Japanese media report that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi plans to visit South Korea next month, Park said nothing has been decided.
The Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported earlier that the IAEA chief would make a trip to Japan on Tuesday to deliver the agency’s final report on its multiyear safety review of the plant and then to neighboring countries, including South Korea, to provide an explanation on the issue.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in discussions, and nothing has been decided yet,” Park said.
In response to heightened public concern, the Seoul government launched a daily press briefing earlier this month to keep the public updated on the release of contaminated water from the plant into the ocean planned for this summer.
Source: Yonhap News Agency