How Dumping Radioactive Water into the Ocean Relates to Emergency Communications
During a Sept. 2019 news briefing, Tokyo Electric Power Company said that it will start dumping radioactive water from the shuttered Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. This is the result of the company being forced to collect and store an incredible 250 million gallons of radioactive water since the 2011 tsunami, primarily to prevent a meltdown. Now, there is no more storage capacity, so this water must go somewhere. The burning question – is this cause for concern?
Downside of Radioactive Water Dumping
Obviously, the main downside is that radioactive water is, by definition, contaminated. It’s not a pleasant thought to use our planet’s oceans as a garbage dump. However, based on my research, this is really the only downside, and even this downside is not that bad.
The most harmful radioactive elements have been chemically removed from the water. The remaining contamination is at levels low enough that, when diluted in massive amount of ocean water, present no threat to the environment.
So, what remains in the contaminated water? A chemical called tritium, which has never caused any harm to people or environments no matter what the concentration level. Therefore, the plan to pour it into the ocean is sound, and safe.
Unfortunately, perception is reality, and most people – myself included – automatically assume that it is not safe to introduce radioactive water into the ocean. In order to alleviate the false perceptions, people must be educated.
This is an important lesson for utility emergency preparedness, especially emergency communications, which must aim to educate people and set the proper expectations. Without proper emergency communications, people will make their own assumptions – i.e., their own reality. And when this happens, customers, regulators and other stakeholders are guaranteed to be unhappy.
The bottom line is that, no matter if it’s dumping radioactive water into the ocean or providing customers with accurate restoration estimates, communication is the key.
