However, the Catholic bishops argued that secondary treatment of the water is still in the testing stage. They said that health experts disagree about the health effects of tritium, citing claims that it is linked to stillbirth, Down syndrome, and childhood death due to leukemia.
They advocated that treated water be stored in tanks or solidified in mortar. Ocean release should not be the only method, they said.
The bishops called it “worrisome” that the government report did not mention the effects of treated water on non-human marine life and the marine environment. The release of radioactive material into the ocean is “irreversible,” they said, objecting that government officials had provided false information in the past regarding nuclear power plant building and maintenance.
The bishops drew on sources including the Japan affiliate of Greenpeace, and the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center, a staunch critic of nuclear power.
Environmentalist critics of the plan say storage tanks can be built outside the plant perimeter. They have said the government is seeking the cheapest and fastest solution to the problem, and they accuse officials of downplaying the radiation levels in the water.
Shaun Burnie, senior nuclear specialist for Greenpeace, told the German news site Deutsche Welle in October 2020 that other radioactive elements remain in the contaminated water and a focus on tritium can be misleading.
“The contaminated water contains many radionuclides, which we know impact the environment and human health — including strontium-90,” Burnie said.
Leaked documents from Tepco indicate that there are still numerous detectable radioactive elements, including iodine, ruthenium, rhodium, antimony, tellurium, cobalt and strontium, according to Burnie.
A 2017 study reported that iodine 129 and ruthenium 106 exceeded acceptable levels in most samples. Both can cause cancer, and ruthenium isotope is toxic when ingested. Levels of strontium 90 were over 100 times above the legally permissible limit in 65,000 tons of treated water, Tepco confirmed.
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) Staff are a team of journalists dedicated to reporting news concerning the Catholic Church around the world. Our bureaus are located in Denver, Washington, and Rome. We have sister language agencies in Kenya, Germany, Peru, Brazil, and Italy. CNA is a service of EWTN News. You can contact us at news@catholicna.com with questions.