Establishing a mechanism for international cooperation for Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water monitoring

The Japanese government’s unilateral decision to discharge the nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean has caused immense nuclear safety risks. Monitoring the unclear-contaminated water is a starting point to combat these risks and seek remedies for the rights and interests of all concerned parties. The establishment of a mechanism for international cooperation in this respect is necessary to handle the risks of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water and to lay the foundation of a framework for tackling any future disposal of nuclear-contaminated water following Japan’s example. At present, the international legal systems in the spheres of nuclear safety and security, marine environmental protection, and other areas, as well as the questioning of the monitoring reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by the relevant parties, the monitoring practices of historical nuclear accidents, and numerous radioactivity monitoring mechanisms have provided the institutional and practical basis for constructing such a mechanism. The mechanism can be promoted by the IAEA through its existing mechanisms or be jointly initiated by China, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the Pacific Island countries, among other stakeholders. Specifically, this mechanism should consist of three levels: first, the framework of the basic legal system, including the cooperative principles of national sovereignty, interest-relatedness, and procedural fairness, and the signing of the Framework Convention on the Monitoring of Fukushima’s nuclear-contaminated water and its Optional Protocol; second, the organizational structure and its responsibilities, which may include the Conference of Parties as the decision-making body, the Secretariat as the central coordinating body, and the monitoring committees in various fields as specific implementing agencies; and third, specific administrative arrangements, which involve the standardization of monitoring, the management system of monitoring networks and stations, the rules for monitoring procedures, and the rules for the utilization of the monitoring data, etc. With the urgent need for the scientific and fair monitoring of Fukushima’s nuclear-contaminated water, China, as a stakeholder country, can promote the establishment of such a mechanism for monitoring nuclear-contaminated water through the following paths: ① It is necessary to clarify the factors affecting the construction of an international cooperation mechanism for monitoring nuclear-contaminated water so as to ascertain the standpoints of the stakeholders, claims of their interests, contents of their cooperation, and the relevant international relations. ② On the basis of existing practices, China should consider improving the monitoring mechanism to cope with the risks of the discharge of Fukushima’s nuclear-contaminated water by formulating targeted policies and systems, setting up specialized monitoring institutions, and establishing a systematic monitoring network system. ③ This is an effective way for China to actively promote the participation of stakeholders in the construction of an international cooperation mechanism for monitoring nuclear-contaminated water in Fukushima by further innovating the dissemination mechanism to address the risk of Fukushima’s nuclear-contaminated water discharging into the sea and facilitating the identification of issues for international cooperation in monitoring Fukushima’s nuclear-contaminated water based on the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.