NUKE PLANT WATER TO BE RELEASED INTO OCEAN

TOKYO Japan said Tuesday it had decided to release into the sea more than one million tonnes of water that has collected at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, despite opposition from local fishermen and nearby countries.

The combination of cooling water and groundwater seepage had become contaminated from contact with reactors that melted down during the 2011 nuclear disaster, and initial attempts to treat it were only partially successful, leaving significant levels of radioactive isotopes.

The government says the water will be treated to remove dangerous isotopes and diluted to well below World Health Organization standards for drinking water, in an operation to be supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency. South Korea, Taiwan and China object to the plan.