LUSAKA, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan's dumping of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean should be condemned as it will have negative effects not only on sea life but on human beings, an environmental activist in Zambia has said.
"The chemicals that Japan has discharged into the ocean are deadly to marine species, and eventually, this impact will move from marine species to mankind and affect the environment," said Abel Kamfwa, founder of Green Generation Zambia, a non-governmental organization on environmental protection.
Nuclear-contaminated water has the potential to cause mutations in marine life, and can raise cancer risks when ingested by people, Kamfwa told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Japan should reconsider its decision because of the dire consequences that will follow, he stressed.
Kamfwa said Japan should not be preoccupied with satisfying its current interests but consider the future effects of its action.
While urging Japan to consider alternative ways of dealing with the contaminated wastewater, Kamfwa called on the United States to end double standards on this issue and join the rest of the world to condemn Japan's deeds.
Environmental activities are needed around the world to stand against Japan's decision which violates international laws, he added.
"There is no need to turn a blind eye because this will affect a lot of things. Activists should speak out of this issue," Kamfwa said.
Japan started releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater from a crippled nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 24, in disregard of concerns and opposition from local fishermen as well as neighboring nations and Pacific island countries.
Hit by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.
The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down the nuclear fuel in the reactor buildings, which is now being stored in about 1,000 storage tanks.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, the plant's operator, has said that in the first round 7,800 tons of the radioactive wastewater would be released over 17 days. ■
