Japan has started dumping more than 10,000 tonnes of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific. The government insists the water is contaminated with only low levels of radiation and is not harmful to humans. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) started dumping the water on Monday, saying a total of 11,500 tonnes would be released into the Pacific. The company insists the radiation poses no threat to marine life and says it would still be safe to eat seafood caught in the area. Prime minister Naoto Kan's top spokesman, Yukio Edano, said in a televised press conference: “We have no choice but to release water tainted with radioactive materials into the ocean as a safety measure.”