The bloc’s move follows positive results from tests carried out on the products by the Japanese authorities and EU member states, the European Commission said in a statement Thursday. “We have taken this decision based on science, based on evidence and based on the assessment of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.
The nuclear watchdog has insisted the planned measure is safe, meets international standards and matches practices by nuclear plants around the world, including those in the United States. The treated contaminated water will be highly diluted and released gradually into the ocean over many years. However, those assurances have failed to quell fears about the safety of Japan’s food exports among several of its neighbors, including South Korea.