Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge: Marine pollution, transboundary relief and potential implications from a risk management perspective

The use of alternative fuels for maritime decarbonization: Special marine environmental risks and solutions from an international law perspective

“…However, "constrained by the inadequacies of existing science, skills and technology", much about the long-term marine environmental impacts remains unknown. This implies that the precise evaluation of harmful substances in the ocean and the precise determination of long-term damage to the marine environment might be incomprehensive (Fossi et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2022b). Difficulties in precisely assessing environmental impacts and establishing emission standards for harmful substances discharged or emitted that could be generally accepted may affect many issues in international law, such as accountability, the establishment of legal standing, and the determination of compensation amounts.…”

“…Second, it is also necessary to promote coordination with existing nuclear conventions to prevent the problem of regulatory fragmentation for nuclear-powered ships and ships fueled by other hazardous substances (Wang et al, 2022b). The current nuclear safety and nuclear liability conventions have many deficiencies in the regulation of nuclear-powered ships and nuclear-powered platforms.…”

Using Nuclear Energy for Maritime Decarbonization and Related Environmental Challenges: Existing Regulatory Shortcomings and Improvements

“…IAEA dominance in nuclear accident investigations could create further fragmentation. For example, after a nuclear ship leakage accident, if the investigation were mainly supervised by the IAEA, as was the case in Japan’s nuclear wastewater disposal after the Fukushima nuclear accident, it may result in the inadequate participation of other international organizations, such as the IMO and the Food and Agriculture Organization in the protection and preservation of the marine environment [ 91 ]. Fragmentation may make it difficult to effectively address nuclear-powered merchant ships’ marine environmental risks.…”

“…Nevertheless, stumbling blocks that had negatively affected convention ratification, such as the ambition to bring nuclear warships under the scope of application, must be abandoned to enhance contracting parties’ willingness to ratify the convention. Moreover, adopting mandatory insurance requirements and compensation fund mechanisms is also important, as it could “ensure prompt, effective and adequate compensation for victims of nuclear damage” [ 91 ]. Fifth, the nuclear technology developments may present opportunities for nuclear energy’s application in other fuel type ships, the integration of alternative fuels into nuclear ships, or even the development of dual-fuel or multi-fuel ships and thereby involving the simultaneous application of different fuel-type-specific conventions.…”

Sensitive detection of dissolved oxygen in seawater by fluorometric sensing based on ZnO-NH2@SiO2 QDs

“…Radioactive substances in nuclear wastewater not only cause reproductive abnormalities, malformations, and damage to the immune system of marine organisms but also affect the pH and DO value in seawater, posing a significant threat to the living environment of marine organisms and even destroying the marine ecosystem. 5 Consequently, in situ monitoring of DO levels in seawater is vital for the protection of marine ecosystems and fisheries, offering rapid assessment of aquatic organism viability and contributing significantly to the advancement of marine aquaculture.…”