A group of protesters is gathering outside the Japanese Consulate in Auckland in protest after the country started releasing treated wastewater from the tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The decision to release the water in small portions has been contentious and was criticised by many Pacific nations.
That water will contain about 190 becquerels of tritium per litre, below the World Health Organisation drinking water limit of 10,000 becquerels per litre, according to Tepco. A becquerel is a unit of radioactivity.
Japan has said the water release is safe. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, greenlit the plan in July, saying it met international standards and the impact it would have on people and the environment was "negligible".
Experts in New Zealand agree.
University of Auckland Nuclear Physicist David Krofcheck told AM on Thursday there is no need to "be concerned about the water".
Krofcheck told AM 25 percent of the water has been filtered from cancer-causing nuclei and what's left is tritium - a form of water that will be diluted down to sea-level concentrations.
When asked if Krofcheck would swim next to the power plant, he said yes.
"I would swim in that water. It's going to be essentially seawater once… after it's been filtered."
For those who are concerned about the treated water reaching Aotearoa, Krofcheck said it's very difficult for ocean currents to cross the equator, and if or when it does reach New Zealand "it'll be extremely diluted".
"Some of the water may eventually make it to New Zealand, but it's not going to be a problem at all for us."
But it is still angering people in Aotearoa with a group of protesters gathering in central Auckland on Friday.
Two protesters are holding a sign saying, "Keep nuclear waste out of the Pacific Ocean", while another called for the New Zealand Government to "call this out".
"We have stayed silent too long. We need to call this out. We need to remember our long-held relation right throughout the Pacific so the New Zealand Government, we need to voice as well our discontent, our dissatisfaction with this decision by the Japanese," the protester said.
Other protesters can be seen wearing hazmat suits and holding signs saying, "Please don't dump any waste here".
How the world reacted
Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono told Newshub Late on Thursday not all factors have been considered by Japan.
Tuiono said it's all well to greenlight "this, that and the other", but Japan has not done an environmental impact assessment.
"This is going to move right around the Pacific and that hasn't I think been adequately addressed.
Meanwhile, China announced an immediate blanket ban on all aquatic products from Japan.
China is "highly concerned about the risk of radioactive contamination brought by... Japan's food and agricultural products," the customs bureau said in a statement.
South Korea isn't happy either. Protests have kicked off around the country against the decision.
Local Governments in South Korea have signalled they would ramp up radiation testing over seafood to ease the concerns of consumers.
