i mjoin byjim smith, professor of envirnmental science at the university of portsmouth. have you with us. how are they do this? ., have you with us. how are they do this? . , , , this? the water is slightly radioactive this? the water is slightly radioactive and this? the water is slightly radioactive and treated i this? the water is slightly - radioactive and treated waste this? the water is slightly radioactive and treated waste water. that means it s been once through the treatment system at fukushima. the radioactive elements that can be taken out have been taken out. what s left is a thing called radioactive a form of hydrogen that forms part of the water molecules. in the waste water. hello? in the waste water some of the water molecules have been changed so that one of the hydrogens instead of h20
anybody worry about this? no. that might sound like anybody worry about this? no. that might sound like a anybody worry about this? no. that might sound like a strange - anybody worry about this? no. that i might sound like a strange response, but the water has been treated for almost all of the radioactivity. so things like radioactive cesium, radioactive strontium that we had about at the time of the fukushima accident, all that has been stripped out, and levels that are less than 1% of the discharge limits for the fukushima site. they are really at incredibly low levels. what is left is a thing called tritium, so tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen, and the reason it is left is because tritium forms part of the water molecules. a few of the water molecules in that million tonnes have one of the hydrogen is, instead of h20, they are ht oh, so hydrogen, tritium and oxygen. that means that they behave chemically identically to normal water, which makes it at that scale, prett