Taiwan opposes Japan move to dump nuke plant water

Taiwan opposes Japan's unilateral decision to release tons of treated radioactive water from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean before proper evaluations are conducted, a government spokesman said Wednesday, CNA reports.

In a statement, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng said Japan should not "insist on going it alone," before having a clear idea of the implications of such an action and assuring the safety of people from neighboring countries.

The Cabinet-level Atomic Energy Council (AEC) presented its opposition in written form to Japan two days ago, demanding that it share information about how the discharge will impact the environment, the spokesman said.

Japan's government announced Tuesday that it had decided to release treated wastewater into the ocean, but that the actual discharge of the water will not begin for another two years.

The treated water will contain radioactive tritium, a byproduct of nuclear reactors, and could have an adverse impact on human health through the consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish if discharged into the sea, environmental groups have said.