TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2023) The release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) has been postponed from spring 2023 to summer because of continuing construction of an underwater tunnel, the Japanese government ruled on Friday.
"The government has established a timespan from spring to summer. We understand this, but we think that our role is to ensure the work and development of construction, focusing on the spring," the head of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Tomoaki Kobayakawa, told reporters.
The rescheduling is linked to the realization of detailed estimates of the facility's construction completion dates, since the tunnel would be used for the discharge of water. Japan had planned to release the water about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) off the Pacific coast in Fukushima Prefecture after finishing the construction work in April 2023.
Fishing communities in Japan oppose the plan out of fear it may cause damage to the seafood industry. South Korea has also expressed its concerns with Japan's plan. China and Russia submitted to Tokyo a joint list of questions concerning potential technical problems.
The planned discharge will be monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The nuclear disaster at Fukushima occurred on March 11, 2011, when the Daiichi plant was heavily damaged following a magnitude 9 earthquake in the Pacific Ocean. This triggered a massive tsunami that hit the plant and caused three nuclear reactors to melt down. The accident is regarded as the worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl accident, resulting in the large-scale contamination of local soil and water.
