Did contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant poison and kill a large number of fish in the Pacific Ocean? No, that's not true: The video is NOT from the Pacific Ocean where Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water was released from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, but from the Sea of Japan located on the opposite side of the country.
The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) where it was published on August 28, 2023. Using Google Translation, the title which is written in Chinese, reads:
Live broadcast revealed that a large amount of fish was poisoned to death by Fukushima's nuclear-contaminated water
What is this fish?
This is terrible
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Sep 7 11:38:30 2023 UTC)
The video was taken on February 7, 2023, in Itogawa City, Niigata prefecture where the Northern Japan Alps meet the Sea of Japan. The ALPS-treated water, NOT "contaminated" water, from the Fukushima power plant was discharged on August 24, 2023, which is AFTER this video was taken.
The Niigata prefecture says 220 tons of sardines have washed up onto the shore. 193 of the 433 bags have been collected by a feed company and the rest were either incinerated or buried.
NHK reported that the sardines might have been chased by the dolphins.
According to Japan TV, another cause might have been that there was a decrease in water temperature.
Since the discharge of ALPS-treated water from the Fukushima plant, unsubstantiated rumors have been circulating on social media, claiming that the contaminated water is polluting the ocean.
The discharge is a key step in decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant after the 2011 tsunami destroyed it. In July 2023, the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency approved Japan's plans to release the treated water into the ocean, saying, after a two-year review, that they met global safety standards.
