The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released an interim report on the ocean discharge of contaminated water from Japan’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on the 5th (local time), and evaluated that Japan’s monitoring program was credible.
On the same day, the IAEA published a report on the safety of treated water from the Multi-Nuclide Removal System (ALPS) of Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (IAEA) on its website. This is the 4th report.
In this report, experts from the IAEA visited Japan in November last year and reviewed the process of treating and discharging contaminated water.
The IAEA explained that this report was written in response to Japan’s request for a comprehensive review of the stability of the marine discharge plan for contaminated water in 2021.
In addition, it was evaluated that significant progress was made in the process of reviewing the plan according to the TF’s feedback, considering the issues raised in the technical part in February of last year.
In particular, the report said, “(IAEA’s) Task Force (TF) can ensure that TEPCO has a credible and sustainable radiation protection program with the necessary accountability and ownership.”
However, it was pointed out that an additional explanation of the methodology for REIA is needed. For the sake of transparency, further explanations will help to better understand the approach taken by TEPCO, it said.
In Japan, contaminated water containing radioactive materials is filtered through ALPS and called treated water, and the IAEA also uses the same expression. However, it is known that it is impossible to remove radioactive substances such as tritium (tritium) even after purification treatment.
On April 13, 2021, the Japanese government decided to dilute the contaminated water and discharge it into the sea. Since then, it has been decided to start discharging contaminated water this year. It plans to mix the contaminated water with water and dilute the concentration of tritium to 1/40 of the standard value before releasing it. This dilution number is at the level of 1500 becquerels (㏃) per liter.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.