A Green Party MP has slammed Japan's decision to release 1.3 million tonnes of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, saying not all factors have been considered.
Japan is continuing to receive global backlash for its decision to release the radioactive water into the Pacific, and within 48 hours the country will start releasing the treated water from the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant.
It comes after the United Nation's nuclear watchdog approved the plan - with the water being slowly let out over a 30-year period.
But Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono said it's important to remember the Pacific is part of Aotearoa's heritage and "it's our neighbourhood".
Tuiono doesn't like Japan's decision at all, telling Newshub Late "it's not a good idea".
"We've got a legacy of nuclear testing within the Pacific as well, and people are still grappling with that legacy. This hasn't been factored into the Japanese Government's decision, let alone all the other environmental concerns."
The wastewater 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 claims the water release is safe. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, greenlighted the plan in July, saying that it met international standards and that the impact it would have on people and the environment was "negligible".
Tuiono said it's all well to greenlight "this, that and the other", but he says 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."
The plan was approved two years ago by the Japanese Government as crucial to decommissioning the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company. It has also faced criticism from local fishing groups fearing reputational damage.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he expects the release to begin on August 24 "weather conditions permitting".
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