Japan began releasing into the ocean the first tranche of more than a million tons of treated radioactive wastewater from the ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Thursday. The Chinese government, which has been the most vocal regional opponent to the discharge plan, responded by announcing that it would suspend seafood imports from Japan. China imported about $3.2 million in fresh seafood from Japan in July.

周四，日本开始向海洋排放第一批来自福岛第一核电站的100多万吨经处理的放射性废水。中国一直是该地区最公开反对排放计划的国家，作为回应，中国政府宣布将暂停从日本进口水产品。7月，中国从日本进口了价值约320万美元的新鲜海鲜。

The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company, which operated the plant and is overseeing its decommissioning, have promised that the water is safe for humans and that they will monitor the continuing release to make sure that radioactive material does not exceed international standards.

日本政府和东京电力公司承诺，这些水对人类是安全的，他们将继续监测排放情况，以确保放射性物质不会超过国际标准。东京电力公司运营该核电站，并负责监督其退役工作。

In the two years since Japan announced its plan to release the wastewater into the sea, the plan has provoked serious political tensions with nearby China and South Korea, as well as anxiety at home. The Chinese government had previously criticized the plan as unsafe; in South Korea, the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol supports Japan’s efforts, but opposition lawmakers have castigated the move as a potential threat to humans. Within Japan, fishermen’s unions fear that public anxiety about the safety of the water could affect their livelihoods.

自日本宣布将污水排入大海的计划以来的两年里，该计划引发了日本与邻国中国及韩国之间严重的政治紧张局势，同时也引发了日本国内的焦虑。中国政府此前曾批评该计划不安全；在韩国，尹锡悦总统领导的政府支持日本的努力，但是反对派议员谴责日本此举是对人类的潜在威胁。在日本国内，渔民工会担心公众对水域安全的担忧会影响他们的生计。

Ever since a huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011 led to a meltdown at the Fukushima plant, Tepco, as the power company is known, has used water to cool the ruined nuclear fuel rods that remain too hot to remove. As the water passes through the reactors, it picks up nuclear materials. The power company runs the cooling water through treatment plants that remove most radioactive nuclides except for tritium, which the International Atomic Energy Agency said in July will not pose a serious health threat to humans if released to the ocean.

自2011年的大地震和海啸导致福岛核电站熔毁以来，东京电力公司一直在用水冷却受损的核燃料棒，因为这些燃料棒温度过高，无法移除。当水穿过反应堆时，会吸附核物质。东京电力公司通过处理厂处理冷却水，除去水中除氚以外的大部分放射性核素。国际原子能机构今年7月表示，氚如果排放到海洋中，不会对人类健康构成严重威胁。

The Japanese government has said that with more than 1.34 million tons of wastewater already accumulated on site, the power company will shortly run out of storage room and that it has no choice but to release the water into the ocean.

日本政府表示，由于现场已经积累了超过134万吨的废水，东京电力公司很快就会耗尽储存空间，因此别无选择，只能将这些水排放到海洋中。

The first release of 7,800 tons of treated water is expected to last about 17 days. Both Tepco and Japan’s fisheries agency have said they will monitor the ocean water for radioactive levels, and the IAEA has said it will also oversee the process, which is expected to last decades.

第一次释放的7800吨经处理的水预计将持续排放17天左右。东京电力公司和日本渔业机构都表示将监测海水的放射性水平，国际原子能机构也表示将监督这一过程，预计这一过程将持续数十年。

To compensate fishermen who lose business due to public anxiety, the Japanese government is allocating 80 billion yen ($552 million).

为了补偿因公众焦虑而失去生意的渔民，日本政府将拨款800亿日元（合5.52亿美元）。