1. How are these services endangered, and what economic costs to society do you foresee with their loss?
"Ecosystem services contribute significantly to global employment and economic activity, especially the ecosystem service of food production contributes the most to economic activity and employment" (p. 63). Fishing is a vital industry in Japan, providing employment to many people.
On April 13, 2021, the Japanese government approved a plan to release more than 1 million tons of contaminated water containing radioactive materials discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc ), which was destroyed by the Great East Japan Earthquake, into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Fukushima. The actual release is scheduled to begin after 2023 (1METI, 2021).
Initially, this water was used to cool the nuclear power plant's nuclear fuel in Japan, and after use, it contains radioactive substances. It is treated in a complicated filtration process. A multi-nuclide removal facility (ALPS) that purifies contaminated water can remove various radioactive substances such as cesium, but radioactive hydrogen combined with oxygen to form tritiated water (2METI, 2021). It is technically difficult to separate tritium from ordinary water, and much-tritiated water remains after treatment (2METI, 2021). The water currently treated is stored in a vast tank owned by TEPCO, but in 2022 the tank will be full. Now, about 1.3 million tons of radioactive water are stored, which is equivalent to 500 Olympic competition pools (1METI, 2021).
Tritium, called tritium, is an isotope of hydrogen with a mass number of 3, a nuclide consisting of one proton and two neutrons. Since tritium has an unstable nucleus, it exists only in a trace amount in nature. It is mixed with water (HTO) and is diffusely distributed in the water phase in the form of a gas, liquid, and solid phase. The half-life is 12.32 years (Major Facilities of Naka Fusion Institute, n.d).
Ecosystem Services undergo β-decay while emitting weak β rays (18.6 keV or less) and changes to helium-3 (3He) (Major Facilities of Naka Fusion Institute, n.d.). The energy of beta rays emitted from tritium is so weak that it cannot penetrate human skin, and there is almost no risk of external exposure (Matsumoto et al., 2021). Even if it enters the human body, most of it is discharged, and it is said that the effect is negligible. It is known to have tritium in the body.
The Japanese government claim that tritium is also generated in general nuclear power plants and nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities after use, and emission standards differ from country to country, but all the nations that own nuclear power plants are flowing into the sea, not only Japan (1METI, 2021). Mostly, it is hundreds of times higher than national safety standards for general beverages.
Regarding the disposal of treated water from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power, the Japanese government said to dilute it with seawater and make less than 1500 becquerels per as a general beverage at the level liter before release (1METI, 2021). Japanese Treasury Minister said at a press conference, "It's okay to drink," and his word is scientifically true because the tritium concentration of less than 1500 becquerels per liter is the same as that of general drinking water.
But the biggest problem is not the radiation intensity of tritium or the concentration of tritium in the treated water, but the fact that it is accumulated in the environment and eats marine products, which may lead to internal exposure.
In 2001, a paper was published showing high levels of tritium in seafood in the Bristol Channel, England. It has been raised by releasing wastes from nuclear power plants at Hinkley Point and Berkley/Oldbury and the Nycomed-Amersham radiochemical plant, via the sewer system, at Cardiff (McCubbin et al, 2001).
According to the guidelines of the British Food Standards Agency, the results of an annual survey for ten years from 1997 show that seawater was 5 to 50 becquerels per liter, while flatfish were 4,000 to 50,000 becquerels per kilogram, and the concentration of 2,000 to 40,000 becquerels per kilogram of Mussels was observed (McCubbin et al, 2001). The average enrichment rates were 3,000 times and 2,300 times, respectively; respectively, almost all the 3H found in sediment and biota were organically bound tritium. Additionally, an experiment in which twin shellfish were given seaweed grown in tritiated water shows it was confirmed that tritium continued to accumulate in proportion to the dose (McCubbin et al, 2001).
Therefore, many countries strongly oppose the decision on the policy of discharging treated water into the ocean. Japanese fishers are campaigning against the release. Because many countries are expected to ban Japanese seafood imports if the Japanese government forces the release, as they did in 2011. The sea near Fukushima is one of the leading fishing grounds in Japan. It will greatly impact the supply of marine products also in Japan.
2. What is one action that people could take to help protect these services?
Japan has a small land area, so the places are limited to storing treated water. I can understand that the government is also under pressure to dispose of treated water, but it can not be a good reason to pollute the environment. The government says there is no problem, but they ignore the negative possibilities.
Many civilians do not take action even though they understand wastewater should pollute the sea because they don't live in Fukushima and think they will not be affected. We must realize that the release of tritiated water can have severe implications for the current and future ecosystems.
Then, we must stop this large-scale tritiated water discharge project at any cost. Historically, Japan is a country where it is extremely difficult to change policies through demonstrations and social movements. Still, we must take action to protect the natural environment around us and our safe and happy lives. I personally post a problem with this project on my blog, and I try to make many people aware of it. (172)
3. One or two sentences or your own personal reflection on something you learned this week.
The textbook says there are no viable alternative scientific theories to evolution, and the alternative religious beliefs should not be taught as science because it cannot be proven (Doršner, 2020, p.87), but I remembered that my science teacher made extensive references to creationism and other non-evolutionary theories in his class, saying that evolution might not be the leading theory after a few decades. He did not deny the evolution theory but meant that science still keeps developing and has endless possibilities, which made me exciting and motivated to learn science.
References
Doršner, K. (2020). Essentials of environmental science (2nd edition). Retrieved from https://my.uopeople.edu/pluginfile.php/1573030/mod_book/chapter/338932/Essentials%20of%20Environmental%20Science2_Optimized.pdf
1METI. (2021). Announcement of he Basic Policy on handling of the ALPS treated water at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS). Retrieved from https://www.meti.go.jp/english/earthquake/nuclear/decommissioning/pdf/pr_bpalps.pdf
2 METI. (2021). Alps treated water Q&A. ALPS Treated Water Q&A / METI Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Retrieved from https://www.meti.go.jp/english/earthquake/nuclear/decommissioning/qa.html
McCubbin, D., Leonard, K. S., Bailey, T. A., Williams, J., & Tossell, P. (2001). Incorporation of organic tritium (3H) by marine organisms and sediment in the severn estuary/Bristol channel (UK). Marine pollution bulletin, 42(10), 852–863. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/s0025-326x(01)00039-x
The United Nations. (2005). ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment & Humans. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf
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