Treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant is being released into the Pacific Ocean starting Thursday. Japan is asking its G7 allies to get behind the release – part of an ongoing cleanup at the plant more than a decade after one of the worst nuclear accidents in history. CBS News' Elizabeth Palmer hears from locals concerned about the release and from representatives of the company in charge of the cleanup who say it would be safe.

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In Japan this morning, a nuclear plant destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami back in 2011 started releasing water that had been exposed to radiation into the Pacific Ocean.

It's a release that follows months of debate and strong opposition from fishing interests who say this is very bad for business.

And China has already reacted by banning all seafood imported from the country of Japan.

Elizabeth Palmer visited the site earlier this year.

Experts for Tepco, the company in charge, explained they've collected so much radioactive water from rain and runoff over the years they kept having to add tanks to contain it.

Now these tanks are almost full of water.

More than a million tons of it and Tepco says the only solution is to start getting rid of it.

By piping it into the sea next to the plant.

For Haruo Ono, who's been fishing this ocean all his life, that is an outrage.

They say it's safe, but the consequences could be 50 years down the road.

There will be no consequences says TEPCO because its technology removes all radioactive compounds from the water except 1, Tritium, which stays in but is diluted to meet international standards.

So even when the water is piped back into the sea Tepco says fish from Fukushima will be safe to eat.

The International Atomic Energy Agency broadly backs the tritium-laced water release.

But will consumers actually eat the fish?

Unlikely, says Haruo Ono who is now looking at the end of his livelihood.

For CBS Mornings, I'm Elizabeth Palmer in Fukushima, Japan.


Speaker 0: In Japan this morning, a nuclear plant destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami back in 2011 started releasing water that had been exposed to radiation into the Pacific Ocean. It's a release that follows months of debate and strong opposition from fishing interests who say this is very bad for business. And China has already reacted by banning all seafood imported from the country of Japan. Elizabeth Palmer visited the site earlier this year.

Speaker 1: Experts for Tepco, the company in charge, explained they've collected so much radioactive water from rain and runoff over the years they kept having to add tanks to contain it. Now these tanks are almost full of water. More than a million tons of it and Tepco says the only solution is to start getting rid of it. By piping it into the sea next to the plant. For Haruo Ono, who's been fishing this ocean all his life, that is an outrage.

It's not a garbage dump, he tells me. They say it's safe, but the consequences could be 50 years down the road. There will be no consequences says TEPCO because its technology removes all radioactive compounds from the water except 1, Tritium, which stays in but is diluted to meet international standards. So even when the water is piped back into the sea Tepco says fish from Fukushima will be safe to eat. The International Atomic Energy Agency broadly backs the tritium-laced water release.

But will consumers actually eat the fish? Unlikely, says Haruo Ono who is now looking at the end of his livelihood. For CBS Mornings, I'm Elizabeth Palmer in Fukushima, Japan.

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Japan starts releasing treated radioactive water from Fukushima nuclear disaster into Pacific