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The Japanese government decided to pour radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean out of economic considerations, said Shaun Burnie, senior nuclear specialist at Greenpeace East Asia.
"Storage is an option that exists. But the Japanese government doesn't want to pursue that option because it's the most expensive," Burnie told CGTN Digital via video conference on Wednesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Monday that the pouring
can no longer be postponed
. But Burniehas different opinions.
"There is no 2022 deadline as the Japanese government has said... because land on the site is available," he said, adding that the government knows there's more space outside the parameter fence of the nuclear site.
"It's important to understand that the surrounding area of the plant is not like a normal environment," he explained. "Most people are not allowed to live there. It's an exclusion zone. There's nothing really much happening other than dealing with the nuclear disaster."
In addition to pointing out the reason behind Japanese government's decision, Burnie said Greenpeace is working with other organizations to stop the pouring from happening.
"For the Japanese government to consider that this is a decision that they could make without consequences beyond Japan is unacceptable," he said.
Burnie also told CGTN Digital that it is wrong to think that Japan can treat radioactive water without making it poisonous.
(Alok Gupta also contributed to the story. The cover picture is a file photo from CFP.)
