Japan tests Fukushima fish daily to quell concerns

STORY: In Japan’s Miyagi prefecture, just north of Fukushima, researchers like Akira Matsumoto are working to help the country quell marine safety concerns.

Since Japan began releasing treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea last month, the researchers have been testing fish from the area - every day that the weather allows.

They work on collecting a radioactive isotope called tritium from the fish samples, to measure the level of radiation.

Matsumoto says he believes full disclosure of the test results is crucial.

“We are conducting the tests and releasing the results properly so it can help people feel assured."

The results are published on the website of Japan's fisheries agency.

So far, it’s reported no fish with detectable levels of tritium.

But the reputation of Japan's fishing industry has taken a hit since the release of the treated water, a move strongly opposed by neighboring countries.

China has currently suspended imports of all aquatic products from Japan.

Local wholesalers at a bustling fish market in Sendai city, just under 70 miles north of the stricken nuclear plant, hope the testing can help rebuild customer confidence.

Katsufumi Ishimori is the Vice President of the Sendai Suisan company.

“I don't want people to question whether we should eat the seafood which China has completely banned. That's why we post the daily test results at the market to show that it's safe.”

TEPCO, the operator of the wrecked plant, filters most radioactive elements out of the water.

But tritium is instead diluted, because when it exists in the form of “tritiated water”, it is difficult to separate from water.

Here’s University of Portsmouth Professor Jim Smith, who studied the impact of radiation on aquatic life around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster:

“It's chemically identical to ordinary water, and so passes through organisms like ordinary water, which doesn't biomagnify."

Smith says that means the tritiated water won’t accumulate in the bodies of fish, unlike other radioactive substances, and will stay at same level as the waters around the fish.

But he cautioned that the concentration of tritium in the water being released is not yet at the maximum planned level.

The release of the first batch of treated water, equivalent to about three Olympic pools, will take about 17 days.

Estimates show it would take about 30 years to release it all.