IAEA chief Grossi hints at discord among Fukushima report experts
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[July 07, 2023]
By Sakura Murakami and John Geddie
TOKYO (Reuters) -The head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said on Friday
he had heard that one or two experts behind its report greenlighting
Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima
plant may have had concerns.
"There have been some ideas to the effect that one or two experts would
have been against (the report)," Rafael Grossi told Reuters in his first
interview since the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued its
report vouching for the safety of a plan that has faced criticism at
home and abroad.
Asked to clarify whether there was concern among any experts behind the
report, which included participants from 11 countries including China,
the fiercest critic of Japan's plan, Grossi added: "I heard that being
said ... but again, what we have published is scientifically
impeccable."
Grossi said none of the experts had raised concerns with him directly
and he did not elaborate on how he had heard of the concern.
China's state-run Global Times newspaper on Thursday said Liu Senlin, a
Chinese expert in the IAEA's technical working group, was disappointed
with the "hasty" report and had said the input from experts was limited
and only used for reference.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png)
Liu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China's foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday the
IAEA's report "did not fully reflect the views of all the experts
involved in the assessment" and that its conclusions were "limited and
one-sided".
The taskforce established by the IAEA in 2021 to review the safety of
Japan's plan to release some 500 Olympic size swimming pools worth of
water from the plant wrecked by a tsunami more than a decade ago, also
include members from Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Marshall
Islands, South Korea, Russia, Britain, the U.S. and Vietnam.
At a later press conference, Grossi said the report was not formed by
consensus and that the group of scientific experts and advisers
consulted "may or may not have individual opinions".
Asked whether the experts were satisfied with the content of the report,
Grossi said: "Absolutely, yes. If there's someone that's not, they
should say it."
'NOT ENDORSEMENT'
Beijing has blasted the IAEA's report saying the body should not be
endorsing a plan which poses risks to marine life and human health,
despite assurances from Japan and the IAEA that it will have a
negligible environmental impact.
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![](../images/070723PIX/news_o16.jpg)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
chief Rafael Grossi speaks at an interview with Reuters in Tokyo,
Japan, July 7, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/07/images/ads/current/debbiesfloral_lda_060123.png)
Grossi said the IAEA's report did not amount to an endorsement of
the plan and that Tokyo must take the final decision to release the
water due to start later this summer.
"We do not endorse the plan or recommend this to be done. We say
this plan is consistent with the standards," Grossi said.
"We do not take sides. I'm not on the side of Japan or on the side
of China or on the side of Korea. The standards apply to all the
same way," he added.
Some Japanese officials are worried that China, the biggest buyer of
its seafood exports, may halt purchases of those items after Tokyo
begins the water discharge, expected to take up to 40 years to
complete.
China said on Friday it will tighten its scrutiny of food imports
from Japan due to safety concerns.
South Korea, which has previously expressed concerns about the
release, said on Friday Japan's plans met global safety standards
and it respected the IAEA's review.
Before the water is released into the ocean, Japan says it will be
filtered to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium, an
isotope of hydrogen that is difficult to separate from water. The
treated water will then be diluted to well below internationally
approved levels, Japan says.
Grossi said given the low levels of radionuclides in the water to be
released, they may be indiscernible a few miles from Japan's coast.
"It could be the case that there's no transboundary effect at all,"
he said.
But as well as varying degrees of international criticism, the plan
has also met resistance at home, especially among the fishing
community concerned about demand for their produce.
Grossi said he understood the concerns because "nothing identical"
to this release had happened before. He added, however, there were
also "certain political agendas" attached to criticisms of the plan,
without elaborating.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/07/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami and John Geddie in Tokyo; Additional
reporting by Martin Pollard in Beijing; Editing by Jacqueline Wong,
Michael Perry and Toby Chopra)
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