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1

0:00/1:34

Japan has begun releasing treated radioactive water from its damaged Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean - 12 years after a nuclear meltdown.

번역 보기
radioactive
방사성의
meltdown
원자로 노심의 용융, 붕괴

That's despite China slapping a ban on Japanese seafood and protests in Japan itself and South Korea.


The UN's atomic regulator says the water will have "negligible" radiological impact on people and the environment.

번역 보기
slap
재빠르게 놓다
atomic
원자의, 원자력의, 핵무기의
negligible
무시해도 될 정도의
radiological
방사성 물질에 의한

2

0:00/1:34

An earthquake followed by a tsunami in 2011 wrecked the nuclear power plant, destroying its cooling system and causing reactor cores to overheat and contaminate water within the facility with highly radioactive material.

번역 보기
wreck
망가뜨리다, 엉망으로 만들다
contaminate
오염시키다

Since the disaster, power plant company Tepco has been pumping in water to cool down the reactors' fuel rods. This means every day the plant produces contaminated water, which is stored in more than 1,000 tanks, enough to fill more than 500 Olympic swimming pools.

번역 보기
rod
막대

3

0:00/1:34

Japan says it needs the land occupied by the tanks to build new facilities to safely decommission the plant. It has also raised concerns about the consequences if the tanks were to collapse in a natural disaster.

번역 보기
occupy
차지하다, 점령하다, 사용하다
decommission
(핵발전소·무기 등을) 해체하다

Japan is releasing the waste water into the ocean gradually, with a green light from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The first release is one of four, scheduled between now and the end of March 2024. The entire process will take at least 30 years.

번역 보기
gradually
서서히, 점진적으로
green light
사업 등에 대한 허가

4

0:00/1:34

The problem is being caused by a radioactive element of hydrogen called tritium, which can't be removed from the contaminated water because there is no technology to do it. Instead, the water is diluted.

Tritium can be found in water all over the world. Many scientists argue if levels of tritium are low, the impact is minimal.

번역 보기
tritium
삼중 수소
dilute
희석하다, 묽게 하다

American professor Emily Hammond, an expert in energy and environmental law with George Washington University, said: "The challenge with radionuclides (such as tritium) is that they present a question that science cannot fully answer; that is, at very low levels of exposure, what can be counted as 'safe'?"

"One can have a lot of faith in the IAEA's work while still recognising that compliance with standards does not mean that there are 'zero' environmental or human consequences attributed to the decision."

번역 보기
radionuclide
방사성 핵종
that is
즉, 말하자면
compliance
법, 명령 등에 대한 준수, 따름
attribute to
~의 결과로 보다

5

0:00/1:34

And marine biologist Robert Richmond, from the University of Hawaii, told the BBC: "We've seen an inadequate radiological, ecological impact assessment that makes us very concerned that Japan would not only be unable to detect what's getting into the water, sediment and organisms, but if it does, there is no recourse to remove it... there's no way to get the genie back in the bottle."

번역 보기
inadequate
불충분한, 부족한
ecological
생태계의, 생태계에 관심을 가진
assessment
평가
sediment
침전물, 퇴적물
organism
유기체, 생물체
recourse
(힘든 상황에서 도움을 얻기 위한) 의지

Traditional female divers in South Korea, known as "haenyeo", tell the BBC they are anxious.

"Now I feel it's unsafe to dive in," says Kim Eun-ah, who has been doing the job off Jeju Island for six years. "We consider ourselves as part of the sea because we immerse ourselves in the water with our own bodies," she explains.

번역 보기
immerse
담그다