The Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources Jelta Wong has confirmed that the National Fisheries Authority has reviewed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Review of Safety related aspects of handling ALPS treated water at TEPCOโs Fukishima Daiichi Nuclear power station in Japan.
Minister Wong said following the release of the IAEA report and the independent analysis that it presents, the Prime Minister James Marape has extended Papua New Guineaโs consent for the controlled release of the treated water from the power station that was destroyed by the tsunami that followed the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.
โThe Prime Minister and I have raised concerns with Japanโs Prime Minister and other agencies, that the release of the water could harm regional fisheries so we sought independent analysis of scientific analysisโ Wong said.
โAny discussion on nuclear material will spark heated debate, so it is important that we approach the issue with caution and have full view of the factsโ
โThe Government of Japan has taken our concerns seriously and promised Pacific Island nations that we will have full technical information for our considerationโ
โPapua New Guinea has taken a very caution approach and initially opposed the release of the water without independent analysis of scientific data by third party laboratoriesโ
โThe IAEA review has provided the technical data that the Prime Minister and I have been waiting to receiveโ
โFrom the information contained in the IAEA report, we have confidence that this treated water meets globally accepted standards and will not harm regional fisheriesโ
โAs stated by the Prime Minister, Papua New Guinea is satisfied with the technical information that has been released by the IAEA and the government of Japanโ
โWe agree that the controlled release can proceed so long as there is ongoing testing and independent analysis, and if there is any increase in risk, that further water release will be stopped immediatelyโ
โThis ongoing monitoring will include additional analysis reports on baseline environmental samples taken from water in the area around where the treated water is releasedโ
In the development of the report, the IAEA oversaw the collection of the treated water samples taken from the Advanced Liquid Processing System treated water expected to be released.
Comparisons of the data from the samples taken of the treated water were undertaken by third-party laboratories that are members of the Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity (ALMERA):
- Spiez Laboratory (LS-Labour Spiez), Switzerland
- Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN), France
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) United States of America
- Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) Republic of Korea
Minister Wong confirmed that Papua New Guinea will continue to consult with partners, including other Pacific Island Nations and Japan, as well as the IAEA, on what is a serious matter for the region.
โWe are all custodians of the resources of our oceans and seas, that are not only the source of livelihoods, but our homes today and for our generation to comeโ Wong said.
