Japan releasing treated Fukushima water to ocean
The nuclear plant is running out of storage for filtered water.
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan plans to start releasing more than a million tons of treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean this year, a top government spokesperson said Friday.
The plan has been endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, but the government will wait for “a comprehensive report” by the United Nations watchdog before the release, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.
Cooling systems at the plant were overwhelmed when a massive undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami in 2011, causing the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Decommissioning work is under way and expected to take around four decades.
The site produced 100 cubic meters of contaminated water each day on average in the April-November period last year —a combination of groundwater, seawater and rainwater that seeps into the area, and water used for cooling.
The water is filtered to remove various radionuclides and moved to storage tanks, with more than 1.3 million cubic meters on site already and space running out.
“We expect the timing of the release would be sometime during this spring or summer,” after release facilities are completed and tested, and the IAEA’s comprehensive report is released, Matsuno said.
“The government as a whole will make the utmost efforts to ensure safety and take preventive measures against bad rumors.”
The comments are a reference to persistent concerns raised by neighboring countries and local fishing communities about the release plan.
Fishermen in the region fear reputational damage from the release, after attempting for years to reestablish trust in their products through strict testing.