Japan’s potential release of more than a million tonnes of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima power plant into the sea pushed up the price of salt in South Korea by nearly 27% in June.
The inhabitants of South Korea they buy sea salt and other items as concerns grow for your safety with Japan because of discharge into the sea more than a million tons of radioactive water about a destroyed nuclear power plant.
The water was mainly used to cool the damaged reactors of the power station of Fukushima in the north of tokyo after being hit by an earthquake and a tsunami in 2011 .
Water from huge storage reservoirs in the Pacific is expected to be released soon, although no date has been set.
Japan has repeatedly assured that the water is safe, saying it has been filtered to remove most isotopes, although it does contain traces of tritium, an isotope of hydrogen that is difficult to separate from water.
But fishermen and buyers in Japan and across the region are scared.
“I recently bought 5 kilograms of salt,” he said Lee Young-min a 38-year-old mother of two, as she prepared seaweed soup in her kitchen at Seongnam just south of the capital of South Korea Seoul.
He said he had never bought so much salt before, but he felt he had to do what he could to protect his family.
“As a mother raising two children, I can’t just sit around and do nothing. I want to feed them safely.”
The inventory rush contributed to an increase of almost 27% in the price of salt in South Korea in June compared to two months ago, although authorities say weather and lower production were also to blame.
In response, the government publishes approximately 50 tons of salt per day from stock with a 20% discount on market prices, until July 11, said Wednesday the Deputy Minister of Fisheries, Song Sang-keun .
The fishing authorities of South Korea they say they will closely monitor the salt farms for any increase in radioactivity. South Korea has banned shellfish in waters near Fukushima, off the east coast of Japan.
China also criticized the plan Japan to release the water, accusing it of a lack of transparency and claiming that it poses a threat to the marine environment and the health of people around the world.
Japan claims to have provided its neighbors with detailed and scientifically based explanations of its plan.
Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Hirokazu Matsuno said last week that Japan was seeing a growing understanding of the problem, although it was not as evident in stores in Seoul this week.
“I came to buy salt, but there is nothing left” said Kim Myung-ok, 73, standing next to empty supermarket shelves. “There were none the last time I came either.”
“The release of water is worrying. We are old and we have lived long enough, but I am worried about the children.
Source: Latercera
I am Robert Harris and I specialize in news media. My experience has been focused on sports journalism, particularly within the Rugby sector. I have written for various news websites in the past and currently work as an author for Athletistic, covering all things related to Rugby news.
