Research On International Liability Of Nuclear Wastewater Discharge To Sea

On April 13,2021,the Japanese government announced that the nuclear waste water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident would be discharged into the sea in two years.Although Japan claims that the nuclear waste water to be discharged is treated nuclear waste water that meets the discharge standards,many people still doubt its safety considering that the nuclear waste water contains some radionuclides that are difficult to treat and have a long half-life,such as cesium 137 with a half-life of 30 years and carbon 14 that can exist for thousands of years.As Japan is an island country in the Pacific coastal waters,ocean currents will carry radioactive materials to global waters.If the nuclear wastewater discharged into the sea does harm to the environment,the consequences are difficult to estimate.By combing the international legal liability of nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea,this paper provides an early warning scheme to deal with the possible environmental damage.The first chapter is an overview of nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea and its legal liability.The first section analyzes the generation of nuclear wastewater,from the generation of nuclear energy,the wide application of nuclear energy,from the important role of nuclear energy to the huge risk of nuclear energy;The generation of nuclear wastewater was introduced from the nuclear accident of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan,and then the harm of nuclear wastewater discharged into the sea was analyzed.The second section analyzes the legal liability arising from the discharge of nuclear wastewater into the sea.The second chapter analyzes the international legal basis of the responsibility for the discharge of nuclear waste into the sea.Among them,the first section studies the principle basis of international environmental law of nuclear wastewater discharge liability,including the precautionary principle,the principle of responsibility not to cause environmental damage,the principle of international cooperation,the principle of sustainable development,and the principle of polluter pays.Section II is the basis for major international treaties,including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter,the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident,the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency,the Convention on Nuclear Safety,the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management,etc.The third section is the practical support of international law,looking at the international legal responsibility of nuclear waste water from the actual cases of nuclear pollution and transnational environmental damage.The third chapter analyzes the deficiency and perfection of the responsibility of discharging nuclear waste water into the sea.The first section analyzes the international legal liability of nuclear waste water discharged into the sea under the existing framework and its deficiencies,mainly from three perspectives: the dispute of the subject of responsibility,the lack of the scope of the subject of claim,and the difficulties in the litigation process.The second section explores the improvement of the international legal liability for nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea,which is carried out from three perspectives: clarifying the state responsibility for nuclear pollution,expanding the scope of claim subjects,and solving litigation difficulties contrapuntally.The fourth chapter analyzes the legal suggestions of China to promote the improvement of nuclear waste water discharge responsibility.The first section analyzes how China promotes the legislative improvement of international legal liability for nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea,including clarifying the definition of nuclear wastewater and the illegality of its discharge into the sea,taking the precautionary principle as the regulatory principle for nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea,regulating the discharge of nuclear wastewater generated by non civil acts,and playing the role of environmental public interest litigation in restricting nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea.Section II analyzes how China leads the management and monitoring of nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea,including clarifying the management procedures for nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea and strengthening international supervision over the process of nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea.Section III analyzes how China can promote international cooperation to improve the responsibility of nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea,including focusing on information exchange on nuclear wastewater management,establishing an international coordinated treatment mechanism for nuclear wastewater discharge,and establishing a compensation fund for damage caused by nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea.Finally,this paper is summarized in the conclusion section.