THE Manila Times recently published an article titled "Is Japan being reckless in its unilateral decision to dump contaminated wastewater into the sea?" (July 8, 2023) by Prof. Anna Rosario Malindog-Uy. I would like to address some concerns regarding the inaccuracies in the article and its portrayal of ALPS-treated water.
First, the water to be discharged is not "contaminated wastewater" or "nuclear-contaminated water." It is "ALPS (advanced liquid processing system) treated water," which has been sufficiently purified until the concentration of radioactive materials other than tritium is below the regulatory standard, and then is further diluted before it is discharged. Tritium is a radioactive material that exists in the natural world, and you can find it in rainwater and also in our bodies, but is not accumulated in the body and is excreted with water.
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