Board Director for Fiji Broadcasting Corporation slams Japan's dumping of nuke wastewater

SUVA, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Japan's dumping of nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean "is indeed downright vulgar, crude and irresponsible," said Mesake Koroi, board director for Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, on Wednesday.

Japan maintains that the dumped water is safe, so why can't they use it to irrigate their rice farms, Koroi said while addressing the second High-level Forum on Sustainable Development of Small Island States held in Suva.

"For us in the small Pacific Island nations, Japan's move is unacceptable," Koroi said, adding that nuclear wastewater is dangerous, as the toxic substances associated with the manufacture of nuclear power cannot be eradicated completely.

"They talk of the level of toxicity contained in the wastewater as acceptable. But my simple mind tells me that the accumulation of toxic waste in the ocean for 30 years would be dangerous," he said, noting that these toxic substances would be drifting in the ocean for marine life to swallow.

"I am sure it will affect their lifestyle to the detriment of the human race. This uncanny Japanese decision to pollute the Pacific Ocean will definitely upset nature and human equilibrium," Koroi said.

Struck by a massive earthquake and an ensuing tsunami in March 2011, the Fukushima nuclear power plant suffered core meltdowns. It generated a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down the nuclear fuel.