Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian recalled during a press conference that the accident that occurred 10 years ago at the plant had a serious impact on the marine environment, food safety and human health.

He called on Japanese authorities to proceed with responsibility and take into account their people, neighboring countries and the entire international community before taking any steps.

He also demanded an in-depth evaluation of the possible effects of the waters coming from the Fukushima plant and to make the information public in a timely, strict, open and transparent manner.

Zhao made the remarks following press reports on the announcement of the Japanese plan to dump the water into the Pacific Ocean and to remove most of the radioactive elements after treating it.

The plant stored the processed water from the cooling of the damaged reactor cores, underground aquifers and rainfall in 1.22 million cubic meter tanks.

The Japanese Government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power, opted for this decision considering it the most viable measure in the face of the accumulation, since the filling limit capacity is 1.37 million cubic meters and estimates indicate it will be reached next year.

However, this is rejected by China, South Korea and even the Fukushima fishermen’s associations, one of the industries hardest hit by the 2011 accident, for fear of contamination of the marine ecosystem.

jg/llp/mem/ymr