潘多拉魔盒被打开？核污水真的“喝了没事”？

The Japanese government decided Tuesday to release treated radioactive water accumulating at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, having determined it poses no safety concerns to humans or the environment despite worries of local fishermen and neighboring countries.

上周二4月13日，日本政府决定将已废弃的福岛第一核电站所蓄积的120万吨放射性污水排放到海中。尽管日本当地渔民和邻国都对此感到担忧，但日本政府却坚信其不会给人类和环境带来安全隐患。

那么，120万吨污水究竟是多少呢？

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对此，中国外交部发言人赵立坚4月14日在例行记者会上表示，海洋不是日本的垃圾桶，太平洋不是日本的下水道。日方处理核废水不应让全世界买单。赵立坚说，至于“日方个别官员称‘这些水喝了也没事’，那请他喝了再说。

The International Atomic Energy Agency has backed the move, with Director General Rafael Grossi saying it is scientifically sound and in line with standard practice in the nuclear industry around the world.

然而，国际原子能机构（International Atomic Energy Agency）支持日本政府的举措，总干事Rafael Grossi表示，这是科学合理的做法，符合全球核工业的标准做法。

Still, concerns remain among Japan's fisheries industry and consumers as well as neighboring countries such as South Korea and China.

尽管如此，日本的渔业界和消费者以及韩国和中国等邻国仍然对此饱含担忧。

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant suffered meltdowns after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. This was the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl accident in 1986, forcing over 100,000 people to evacuate the area. Some parts of Fukushima remain inhabitable to this date; 40,000 people can’t return to their homes. In an attempt to cool down the plant’s melted fuel debris, plant workers have pumped about 1.2 million tons of water through the reactors. The storage capacity for water tanks at the complex is expected to run out around the fall of 2022.

福岛第一核电站在2011年东日本大地震和海啸后发生熔毁。这是自1986年切尔诺贝利事故以来最严重的核灾难。10万多人因此被迫撤离该地区。到目前为止，虽然福岛的一些地区可以居住，但仍有约四万人无法返回家园。为了冷却核电站内部熔化的核燃料碎片，核电站工人已经向反应堆中泵入了约120万吨水。综合体水箱的储存能力预计将在2022年秋季前后耗尽。

东京电力核废水储存罐容量示意图

Since it will take two years of preparation for the water to be released, Suga's administration wants to make a formal decision as soon as possible. Last year in February, a Japanese government panel proposed different ways of disposing of the water, from evaporating or storing it underground to releasing it into the ocean. In March, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) -- which owns the plant -- devised a plan to dilute the water to below the legal limit for the concentration of radioactive materials.

排放污水之前需要两年的准备时间，所以日本政府希望尽快做出正式决定。去年2月，日本政府的一个专项小组提出了几种处理污水的方法：将废水蒸发、储存在地下或是排放到海洋中。今年3月，东京电力公司（TEPCO），该核电站的拥有者，又制定了一项计划：将核污水中的放射性物质浓度稀释至国家标准的四十分之一以下再排放。

这种含有放射性物质的污水一旦被排入大海会造成什么影响？事实上，早在2012年，来自德国的海洋科学研究机构Geomar Helmholtz-Zentrum就计算得出，从排放之日起，57天内放射性物质就将扩散至太平洋大半区域，3年后美国和加拿大就将遭到核污染影响。

Experts have recommended that the release into the sea is the most realistic method that can be implemented. The water is treated with an advanced liquid processing system known as ALPS. The system removes most of the contaminants; however, it cannot remove radioactive tritium, a byproduct of nuclear reactors. 

专家建议，将污水排放入海是可以实施的最现实的方法。在排放之前污水将会通过ALPS（多核素去除设备）液体处理系统进行处理。该系统可以去除水中大部分污染物。然而，它不能去除核反应的副产品——放射性元素氚。

Japanese officials say the water will be so diluted it won't be harmful to humans.They plan to dilute it so the levels of tritium are only at 2.5% of the maximum concentration considered acceptable by national standards.

日本官方表示会将污水稀释到不会对人类造成危害的程度。他们计划将水中氚浓度稀释到2.5%（即国家标准所能接受的最高浓度）以下。

However,  environmental group Greenpeace  claims that the 1.23 million metric tons of water stored at the plant -- scene of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster -- contains "dangerous" levels of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 and other "hazardous" radionuclides, which it says will have "serious long-term consequences for communities and the environment" if the water is released into the Pacific Ocean.

然而，环保组织绿色和平(Greenpeace)表示，2011年福岛核灾难现场储存的123公吨污水含有“危险”级别的放射性同位素碳14和其他“有害”的放射性核素，一旦排放入太平洋，这些物质会“给人类与环境造成严重的长期影响”。并且福岛核污水中含有的放射性元素极其复杂，与全球核电站正常运营中排放的含氚废水不可相提并论。

Tritium’s beta particles aren't said to be able to penetrate human skin but are thought to build up inside the body if inhaled or consumed in large quantities. However, you'd need to consume a vast amount to see any damaging health effects.

氚最危险的可能就是其β衰变了，但β衰变所放出高速移动的电子不会穿透人体，但如果吸入或摄入过多就会在体内积累对健康产生危害。

Claire Corkhill,reader in nuclear materials at the UK's University of Sheffield, who was not associated with the study, said while the Japanese government should be sure of how much carbon-14 is in the tanks before releasing the water into the sea, scientific modeling indicates that the levels of the isotope are within the limits of what the government deems safe.

英国谢菲尔德大学核材料专业的准教授Claire Corkhill表示在排放前日本政府应该搞清楚库中有多少碳14，目前科学模型证明同位素含量在日本政府认为安全的范围内。

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Disposing of the contaminated water will not be an easy task -- though the water could in theory be transported to a different site in the prefecture, or transformed into cement, both alternatives come with their own environmental concerns, Corkhill added. "There's not really any good solution for this type of material," she said.

污水排放不是一样简单的工作，尽管理论上污水可以被转移到管区另一处，或封入水泥，但这两个选项都会带来对环境上的影响。“对于这种物质就没有什么好的解决方案。”她说。

Nonetheless, Corkhill said that the contaminated water is becoming a pressing concern: If the Japanese government does not deal with the contaminated water, it will have "several millions of cubic meters of water that's radioactive all sat on the Fukushima site" 。

虽然如此，Corkhill说污水带来的担忧愈加急迫：如果日本政府不去处理污水，他们就会有“数百万立方米的放射性污水”储存在福岛。

While a government panel last year recommended the ocean release of treated water, which is said to pose little risk to human health, as one of the realistic options, the fisheries industry and some local governments opposed the proposal out of concern that consumers would shun seafood caught nearby.

福岛渔业界以及当地政府强烈反对将核污水排入大海。核事故十年来，福岛渔业的品牌形象遭受了沉重打击。尽管日本政府专家组声称，核污水入海不会对人体造成危害，但渔业从业者仍然担心，这对于福岛的海产品来说无疑是雪上加霜，消费者会更不想买福岛海产品。

"Even if we insist that our fish are 'safe,' how the consumer feels is another issue. I am also worried about how people overseas would react to it," said Toru Takahashi, chairman of a fisheries group in Fukushima.

Toru Takahashi是福岛一家渔业公司的负责人，他表示：“我很担心其他国家的人对这件事的看法，就算我们再怎么强调我们的鱼是安全无害的，消费者也难免会有顾虑。”

"The government may allocate budgets on measures against reputational damage, such damage will not disappear easily. All what we have done to resume fishing was for nothing," said a man in his 50s who works in the fishery industry in the town of Namie near the Fukushima power plant.

“政府可能会拨款补贴渔业的损失，但名誉受损很难挽救。我们之前为了重振福岛渔业所付出的所有努力都白费了。”在福岛核电站附近工作的一名渔民说道。

"It would be difficult to accept the release into the sea if the Japanese side makes a decision without sufficient consultation," South Korean Foreign Ministry said, adding South Korea will "respond by strengthening cooperation" with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

除了当地渔业以外，中国、韩国等日本周边国家也高度关注此事。韩国外交部表示，日本政府没有经过充分的研究论证就做出这样的决定，这实在是难以让人信服和接受。韩国将同国际原子能机构加强合作，保持对此事的高度关注。

South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered officials on April 14 to explore petitioning an international court over Japan's decision to release water from its Fukushima nuclear plant, his spokesman said, amid protests by fisheries and environmental groups.

4月14日，韩国新闻发言人表示，韩方正在寻求就日本“排污入海”向国际法庭提起诉讼，在文在寅的要求下，韩国的官员们已经开始研究起诉讼的详细事宜。

THE END

编译 | 王兆隆 常君怡 李艳阳 余梓骞 刘予萌

排版 | 刘予萌

图片源于网络