Hong Kong will impose a ban on imports of food products from the Fukushima region if Japanese authorities insist on releasing wastewater from a crippled nuclear power plant into the sea, Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan has warned.

Tse said the Japanese government’s plan to discharge nuclear-tainted water is irresponsible as it could foul the ocean and public health.

He also told Chinese newspaper Ta Kung Pao that the recent discovery of a fish from the Fukushima area containing an excessive amount of radioactive element cesium showed the serious risk.

The amount of cesium found in the fish exceeded the safety standard by 180 times, Tse said, reflecting the fact that danger from Fukushima “is by no means an academic discussion but an existing serious problem.”

Tse went on to say that any discharge of nuclear wastewater would mean Japan was failing in its responsibilities under international law.

“If the Japanese government is confident in the safety of processed nuclear wastewater it should use the water within its own country, such as for irrigation,” he added.

A workforce from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which includes Chinese experts, is also reviewing the Japanese plan for discharging nuclear wastewater.

Tse said the Hong Kong administration could take stringent action to prohibit the import of food products from Fukushima, including vegetables, fruit and dairy products as well as seafood.

He said import controls would be applied to other high-risk prefectures in Japan.

And authorities have formed a task force to conduct stepped-up tests for signs of radiation on food imported from various regions in Japan.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong continues to be among Japan’s largest importers of agriculture, forestry and aquatic products, though local officials are ready to swing into action and impose import bans of products from Fukushima and nearby prefectures should Japanese authorities allow the discharge of the wastewater.

Hong Kong is among 12 countries and regions that have in any event restricted the import of Japanese food since the March 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami that triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which saw three reactors losing their cooling systems and their cores melting down.

There has since been constant pumping of water into the site, and space is running out for storing the now-contaminated water.

As of last month Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety had tested over 778,000 samples of imported Japanese food, with about 120,000 of the items aquatic products.

But none of the samples had radiation levels exceeding an international safety standard.

And with Hong Kong far from Japan, Tse sees the city facing a low risk of its water quality being affected by Fukushima wastewater from Japan’s east coast.

Still, “if local fishermen’s livelihoods were seriously affected by the discharge of wastewater we could provide them with financial support,” he said.

People involved in catering in Hong Kong say they could expect a 10 percent increase in food costs in the event of the city imposing a strict ban on food from the Fukushima region.

But Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said a ban would have a limited effect on eateries and food suppliers.

“Even Japanese restaurants that claim all their ingredients are imported from Japan are actually purchasing from different parts of the country,” Wong said.

“For example, tuna is one popular item imported from around Fukushima, but that area is by no means the only habitat for the fish.”

Since the disaster in 2011, he added, the catering sector has been diversifying its sources of imported ingredients. But the trade would need to watch for customers eating less Japanese food if Tokyo insists on discharging the nuclear wastewater.

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/11/253209/Fukushima-red-line

Category: Hong Kong