Senior Research Fellow Denise Cheong and Research Associates Nivedita S and Manisha Regalla were invited to attend a closed-door webinar organised by the NUS Energy Studies Institute (ESI) entitled ‘The Management of Contaminated Water at Fukushima Daiichi’ on 21 April 2021. The webinar was timely in light of the announcement by the Government of Japan of its basic policy on the handling of treated water currently stored at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on 13 April 2021. The webinar provided an update on the status of the reactor units at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, outlined issues relating to contaminated water and discussed the management of contaminated water that had undergone treatment. This discussion included considerations of disposal options, including discharge into the sea of such treated water. The webinar highlighted concerns from the perspective of the Republic of Korea. These included the potential impact on ecosystems, in addition to existing concerns over nuclear energy in general. The importance of discussion and cooperation, as well as greater transparency between neighbouring states, was emphasised. The webinar concluded by recommending ways to address these concerns, including allowing scientific evidence to be at the forefront, sharing information transparently and consistently and building trust in the region through communication and cooperation.

The speakers were Professor Akio Yamamoto of Nagoya University, Japan, and Dr Park Jiyoung, Director and Senior Fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, Republic of Korea. The webinar was moderated by Dr Philip Andrews-Speed, Senior Principal Research Fellow at ESI. For further information, see https://esi.nus.edu.sg/eventitem/2021/04/21/default-calendar/the-management-of-contaminated-water-at-fukushima-daiichi.