Korea Will Monitor the Radioactivity of the Ocean

It was announced today that the Korean government will monitor the radioactivity of the ocean between Korea and Japan, and along the Korean coast.  This comes a few days after Japanese scientists published theoretical predictions of the diffusion of the radioactive materials into the Pacific ocean.  Though the dominant surface currents in the Pacific ocean near Japan flow eastward, away from Korea, the prospect of radioactive pollution being carried to the Korean coast by ocean surface currents is worrisome, as Koreans eat a lot of fish.  Some radioactive materials can accumulate in sea life, and then be ingested by humans.  I therefore think it's a good thing that the Korean government wants to monitor the radioactivity of the ocean.

I am not sure if progress is being made in the effort to stop the leakage of radioactive water into the Pacific ocean at Fukushima.  Japanese officials have announced that they will try to use a zeolite mineral to try to absorb some of the radioactivity in the ocean waters near Fukushima.  But there remains about 50,000 tons of radioactive water still trapped at the Fukushima plant, and it was reported today that some of this water may be leaking into the ground.

At the same time, the Japanese government has announced a review of safety measures at nuclear power plants across the country.  And in Korea, one article called for the closing of older nuclear reactors, notably one located near Busan that has recently had its operating life extended.  The latter article reports that: "Yesterday, the Busan Bar Association applied for an injunction suspending operation of the number one reactor at the Gori Nuclear Power Plant. This reactor has entered extended operation, just like Fukushima’s number one reactor that exploded. The safety assessment used as the basis for the extension was poorly conducted, and its results were not even disclosed publicly."  I will try to keep an eye on this issue.