MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th July, 2023) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Tuesday that Japan's plans to discharge treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) into the sea are in line with IAEA safety standards.
Earlier in the day, the IAEA presented a report on its assessment of the safety of the planned discharge to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, in which it said that the discharge of treated water will have negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.
"Based on its comprehensive assessment, the IAEA has concluded that the approach and activities to the discharge of ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) treated water taken by Japan are consistent with relevant international safety standards," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi was quoted as saying in the agency's statement.
The IAEA said that in 2021, Japan decided to release the water stored at the plant into the sea and requested the agency's advice on the safety aspects of the plan. The water has been treated through the ALPS to remove almost all radioactivity except for tritium, which will be reduced by dilution, the statement read.
Grossi added that the IAEA would monitor the discharge and its consequences in order to ensure that safety standards will continue to be applied.
"This will ensure the relevant international safety standards continue to be applied throughout the decades-long process laid out by the Government of Japan and TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company)," Grossi said.
In 2021, Japan announced its plans to dispose of Fukushima's treated water and invited the IAEA to verify that it would be safe. Some countries, including New Zealand and South Korea, have opposed Japan's plans, and Tokyo reportedly hoped that Grossi's mission to the plant would change their minds.
Tokyo had originally planned to begin discharging water purified of all radionuclides except tritium into the ocean 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the NPP this spring. However, due to adverse weather conditions and other factors, the deadline was pushed back to the summer of 2023.
