Scientists to Study Fish after Fukushima Water Release
2023-10-20
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1A team of international scientists collected fish samples from an area near Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant Thursday.
2They are examining the effects of the recent release of treated radioactive water from the plant into the sea.
3The study by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the first since the water release began in August.
4Local fishermen criticized the release.
5It also led China to ban all seafood products from Japan over food safety fears.
6Scientists from China, South Korea and Canada observed the collection of fish samples at Hisanohama Port, about 50 kilometers south of Fukushima.
7The samples will be sent to laboratories in each country for independent testing, the U.N. nuclear agency said.
8Paul McGinnity is a research scientist with the IAEA overseeing the study.
9He said, "The Japanese government has requested that we do this and one of the reasons they want us to do this is to try and strengthen confidence in the data that Japan is producing."
10More than a million metric tons of water was contaminated by contact with fuel at the nuclear reactor following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.
11Before being released, the water is filtered to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium, which is difficult to separate.
12Plant operator Tepco said the levels of tritium in the water are weakened to below official limits.
13The IAEA says that tritium is "a naturally occurring radioactive form of hydrogen that is produced in the atmosphere when cosmic rays collide with air molecules."
14The agency says tritium cannot enter the body through human skin.
15It is only harmful if ingested in a very large amount.
16I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1A team of international scientists collected fish samples from an area near Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant Thursday. They are examining the effects of the recent release of treated radioactive water from the plant into the sea. 2The study by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the first since the water release began in August. Local fishermen criticized the release. It also led China to ban all seafood products from Japan over food safety fears. 3Scientists from China, South Korea and Canada observed the collection of fish samples at Hisanohama Port, about 50 kilometers south of Fukushima. 4The samples will be sent to laboratories in each country for independent testing, the U.N. nuclear agency said. 5Paul McGinnity is a research scientist with the IAEA overseeing the study. He said, "The Japanese government has requested that we do this and one of the reasons they want us to do this is to try and strengthen confidence in the data that Japan is producing." 6More than a million metric tons of water was contaminated by contact with fuel at the nuclear reactor following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. 7Before being released, the water is filtered to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium, which is difficult to separate. Plant operator Tepco said the levels of tritium in the water are weakened to below official limits. 8The IAEA says that tritium is "a naturally occurring radioactive form of hydrogen that is produced in the atmosphere when cosmic rays collide with air molecules." 9The agency says tritium cannot enter the body through human skin. It is only harmful if ingested in a very large amount. 10I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 11Hai Do adapted this report for VOA Learning English from Reuters and other sources. 12______________________________________________ 13Words in This Story 14sample -n. a small amount of something taken to get information about it 15plant -n. a center, building or factory 16confidence -n. a feeling of trust or belief 17contaminated -adj. containing impurities or something undesirable 18filtered -adj. something that has had an unwanted substance removed from it 19isotope -n. a version of an element that has an unusual number of neutrons 20We want to hear from you. 21Our comment policy is here.