1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:03,520 Speaker 1: My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda 2 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: Bunjelung Calcotin woman from Gadigol Country. The Daily oz acknowledges 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:10,800 Speaker 1: that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torrestrate 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,600 Speaker 1: island and nations. We pay our respects to the first 6 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: peoples of these countries, both past and present. 7 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 2: Good morning, and welcome to the Daily os It's Monday, 8 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 2: the twenty eighth of August. I'm Sam Kraslowski. 9 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 3: I'm Zara Seidler. 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,520 Speaker 2: The controversial release of treated radioactive water from the Fukashima 11 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 2: Nuclear power plant in Japan has just begun. Japan is 12 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 2: releasing water contaminated during the Fukushima nuclear disaster into the ocean. 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 2: The UN's nuclear monitoring body has signed off on the 14 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:54,279 Speaker 2: plan and Japan insists it's safe, but not everyone is convinced. 15 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: There is white bear public opposition to the move in 16 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: neighboring China and South Korea, and China has already reacted 17 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: by banning all seafood imported from the country of Japan. 18 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 3: Tda's brilliant deputy editor, Emma Gillespie is going to explain 19 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 3: exactly what is being released into the ocean and whether 20 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 3: or not it's safe the first sam what's making headlines 21 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 3: this morning. 22 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 2: Three US Marines have been killed and five hospitalized after 23 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 2: their military aircraft crashed on Melville Island, part of the 24 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:29,320 Speaker 2: Tiwi Islands, yesterday. Twenty three people, all US personnel, were 25 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 2: on board the plane when it crashed on the island, 26 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 2: which is sixty kilometers off the coast from Darwin, during 27 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:36,559 Speaker 2: a training exercise. 28 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 3: A twelve year old girl has been taken to hospital 29 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 3: following a stabbing at an Adelaide school. The student suffered 30 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 3: non life threatening injuries after she was stabbed in the torso. 31 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 3: On Friday, A twelve year old boy was arrested and 32 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 3: will face court in October on an assault charge. 33 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 2: The largest study into the effects of salt on heart 34 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,040 Speaker 2: health has revealed that cutting salt from one's diet you 35 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 2: can reduce the risk of heart issues and strokes by 36 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 2: almost twenty percent. Researchers also found that those who never 37 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 2: add additional salt to their food were eighteen percent less 38 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 2: likely to develop atrial fibrillation, which is the irregular heart 39 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,359 Speaker 2: rhythms that can lead to heart failure than those who do. 40 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 2: Add a pinch of. 41 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 3: Salt and the good news. Lego will start selling bricks 42 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 3: coated with braille to help vision impaired children play Braille. 43 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 3: Bricks had previously been distributed for free to some learning organizations, 44 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 3: will now be available for purchase in English and French 45 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 3: languages from Friday. 46 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 2: Emma, welcome back to the podcast. 47 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 4: Thank you for having me. 48 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 2: So Japan has begun releasing treated radioactive water from the 49 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 2: Fukushima Nuclear power Plant into the Pacific Ocean. There's a 50 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 2: lot to unpack here. Why don't we start at the 51 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 2: very beginning. Tell me how Japan ended up with this 52 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 2: radioactive water, something you're not meant to have to begin with. 53 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 4: This goes way back to March two thousand and eleven, 54 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 4: when a massive earthquake off Japan's northeast coast triggered a tsunami. 55 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:08,919 Speaker 2: I remember that earthquake. 56 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 4: It was huge, It devastated parts of Japan, and this huge, 57 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 4: super fast wave just smashed into the coast thirty minutes 58 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 4: after this earthquake, there was very little time to prepare 59 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 4: and it hit this power plant, the Fukushima Nuclear Plant, 60 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 4: which knocked out the power supply to the plant and 61 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 4: triggered a chain reaction which caused three reactor cause to 62 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 4: melt down. 63 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 5: Nuclear officials there a warning of a possible nuclear reactor meltdown. 64 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 5: They are still cooling three reactors at the site using seawater, 65 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 5: but today they admitted the number two reactor at one 66 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 5: point was dry the overheating fuel rods completely exposed. 67 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 4: So these three reactor CAUs were melting down and water 68 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 4: had to be used to cool those reactors down. Now 69 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 4: that water became highly radioactive, So over the course of 70 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 4: a few weeks, all this additional water was used to 71 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 4: cool the reactors down, and that contaminated water was then 72 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 4: treated and stored in tanks. Lots of water, lots of tanks. 73 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 4: On top of that, we had contaminations spilling out from 74 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 4: the plant into nearby waterways that also needed to be 75 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 4: pumped back out and stored. So the process of cooling 76 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 4: those reactors is still ongoing, meaning more and more water 77 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 4: continues to be contaminated, more and more water to be stored. 78 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 2: Twelve or thirteen years later, Yes. 79 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 4: So what happened. Fukushima was declared one of the worst 80 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:38,719 Speaker 4: nuclear disasters in history and clearly, all these years on, 81 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 4: we're still talking about it. The impact is still being felt. 82 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 2: What do you mean when you say a lot of water? 83 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,719 Speaker 4: We're talking about five hundred Olympic sized swimming pool's worth 84 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 4: of contaminated water that Japan's been storing in tanks ever 85 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 4: since twenty eleven. There's some visuals of these tanks. It's 86 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:58,479 Speaker 4: you can hardly comprehend how much water they're storing. 87 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 2: So the water is still there at the plan. What's 88 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 2: happened in the decade plus since then? 89 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 4: So the Fukushima plant is now a decommissioning project. That 90 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,280 Speaker 4: means that it's being shut down. But we're talking about 91 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 4: nuclear power, so that has to be a gradual process, 92 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 4: and they reckon it's going to take around a generation 93 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 4: to complete this task, and so part of that decommissioning, 94 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 4: part of that project is dealing with this enormous amount 95 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 4: of nuclear wastewater. But the problem is there are only 96 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 4: so many tanks that we can store wastewater in and 97 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 4: they're due to reach full capacity at the plant very soon, 98 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:40,919 Speaker 4: so they have to figure out what to do with 99 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 4: the more than one point two million tons spread across 100 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,280 Speaker 4: one thousand tanks sitting there at this plant. So the 101 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 4: news now is that, following a consultation period, they've now 102 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 4: begun releasing a treated version of this contaminated water into 103 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 4: the ocean. 104 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 2: And I imagine that's not great, right, Well. 105 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 4: It's only divided international communities and Japan's neighbors. And to 106 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:09,040 Speaker 4: understand the risk of releasing this wastewater, the risk it 107 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 4: might have on the ocean, the animals that live in 108 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 4: the ocean, and those of us who consume food from 109 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 4: the ocean or drink water, it's important to consider what 110 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 4: happened in the years after the disaster. So after that 111 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:25,479 Speaker 4: nuclear meltdown in the tsunami, large amounts of radioactive materials 112 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 4: were released into the Pacific Ocean, and in twenty eleven, 113 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 4: seawater sites recorded really high levels of lingering radioactive substances. 114 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:40,040 Speaker 4: Many were concerned about what the potential impact of that 115 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 4: long term was on marine life. Since then, the World 116 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 4: Health Organization have conducted studies that thankfully show us that 117 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 4: there actually hasn't been a significant level of cancer and 118 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 4: radioactive impact on wildlife, certainly not as much as was predicted, 119 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 4: and not at all to the levels of precursors that 120 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 4: we look to like Noble, a disaster which saw immediate deaths. 121 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 2: So should we then be worried for marine life? Is 122 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:07,479 Speaker 2: it safe to put it? 123 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 4: Simply? The UN says it's safe. So the United Nations 124 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 4: has endorsed Japan's plans to pump the additional million plus 125 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 4: tons of treated radioactive wastewater back into the ocean. The 126 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 4: UN basically said it deems the risk of that water 127 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 4: to be low. But this is a controversial plan and 128 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 4: it has attracted a lot of attention and concern. 129 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 2: What do you mean by treating water? 130 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 4: So this is a process of basically cleaning the contaminated 131 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 4: water to remove most of the problematic contaminants. But there 132 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 4: is still one radioactive contaminant that does remain, and it's 133 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 4: called tritium. It's something that can't really be removed by 134 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:58,239 Speaker 4: modern technology. But there are international standards for how much 135 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 4: tritium is safe to release into the water. Japanese authorities 136 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 4: have chosen a concentration of tritium seven times smaller than 137 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 4: the World Health Organization's recommendation for water that you can 138 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 4: drink for tritium levels in drinking water that is safe 139 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 4: to consume, So seven times under that number and The 140 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 4: International Atomic Energy Agency says it will be monitoring the 141 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 4: release process, and they claim the water will have a 142 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 4: negligible radiological impact to people and the environment. 143 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,200 Speaker 2: So the UN's given the tick. The Japanese government's obviously 144 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:35,559 Speaker 2: in favor of it because it's their initiative. What's the 145 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 2: opposition been to the plan? 146 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:42,440 Speaker 4: So Japan's fisheries unions have really been opposed to the 147 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 4: release of this wastewater. They've said that even if treated, 148 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 4: that the water will have a catastrophic impact on the 149 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 4: fishing industry. We know that Japan's fishing industry. 150 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 2: Is enormous, world renowned. 151 00:08:55,880 --> 00:09:00,439 Speaker 4: Exactly, China has already announced an immediate blank at ban 152 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 4: on importing seafood from Japan, so there'll be huge economic 153 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,840 Speaker 4: impacts there. A Chinese official has also been quoted in 154 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 4: Chinese state run media calling Japan's decision selfish and irresponsible. 155 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 4: But Japan has pointed out that China fairly has discharged 156 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 4: its own water from nuclear plants with much higher levels 157 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 4: of tritium than Japan's currently proposing. The BBC says that 158 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 4: they verified that, so there could be a bit of 159 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 4: politic and going on there. But the response to this 160 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:35,559 Speaker 4: extends well beyond Japan and China. The response has been international. 161 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 4: Thousands of people have protested this decision, including in Korea 162 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 4: in Seoul, where they're calling for government action, people taking 163 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 4: to the streets there. But interestingly enough, the South Korean 164 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 4: government has actually endorsed this plan themselves. There are also 165 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 4: researchers who criticize the plants, saying that if the water 166 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:57,559 Speaker 4: was left in storage for one hundred and twenty years 167 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 4: over that period of time, the tritium would diminish significantly, 168 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 4: and that would of course lower the risk significantly. But 169 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 4: proponents of the current plans say storing contaminated water for 170 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 4: that long is just unrealistic and increases the risk of 171 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 4: accidents storing that water, of course, things can go wrong, 172 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:17,920 Speaker 4: Humans can come into contact with that contaminated water, and 173 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 4: then you know, we deal with a whole other set 174 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 4: of potential disasters. 175 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:23,320 Speaker 2: Why do you think this story has grabbed you? 176 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:27,079 Speaker 4: I think this story has captivated so many of us 177 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:31,319 Speaker 4: because it's just unlike anything we see in the headlines. 178 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 4: You know, we deal with the constant expected news stories 179 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 4: of cost of living, crisis politics, but this is just 180 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 4: a weird one. If I can be so blunt, like, 181 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 4: whoever thought we would be talking about a tsunami from 182 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 4: twenty eleven impacting the safety of a fishing economy of 183 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 4: drinking water and causing such division between countries and advocacy 184 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 4: groups and the science community. Yeah, it's a really interesting 185 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,080 Speaker 4: one and we'll certainly be keeping an eye on what 186 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:05,200 Speaker 4: comes from here. 187 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 2: It'll be really interesting to see if there's those economic 188 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,360 Speaker 2: impacts to Japan's fishing industry plays out and what that 189 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:14,959 Speaker 2: actually looks like. Thanks for joining us on the Daily AuSIM. 190 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 4: Thank you for having me. 191 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:20,440 Speaker 2: And thank you for listening to us this morning. If 192 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 2: you have a question that you'd like us to explore 193 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:25,680 Speaker 2: this week, all some comments on today's episode, we'd love 194 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 2: to see your feedback. You can leave it in a 195 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,599 Speaker 2: little question box at the bottom of your Spotify page. 196 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 2: We'll be back again tomorrow. Until then, have a great 197 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 2: start to the week.