Fukushima Plant's Operator Unveils Blueprint Of Tunnel To Dump Treated Water In Ocean

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of Japan's disabled Fukushima nuclear power plant, released on Wednesday the details of the construction of a 0.6-mile offshore tunnel that will be used to discharge radioactive water treated with the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) into the ocean

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2021) The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of Japan's disabled Fukushima nuclear power plant, released on Wednesday the details of the construction of a 0.6-mile offshore tunnel that will be used to discharge radioactive water treated with the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) into the ocean.

"ALPS treated water will be diluted using seawater from outside the harbor to avoid impact of radioactive material in the harbor, and discharged via the undersea tunnel dug through bed-rock (approx.1km) [0.6 miles] to prevent discharged water from recirculating into the seawater taken in," the company said.

The tunnel is designed to begin in the area of the station's Unit 5, while the point of discharge will be in an area free of daily fishing. TEPCO promised to provide more details on the tunnel after conducting drilling surveys at sea, which could start this September.

The plan must be approved by the Japan Nuclear Regulation Authority. Moreover, TEPCO has to receive a permit for conducting sea-boring surveys from the local administration, the central government and fishing co-ops.

In April, the Japanese government announced plans to release the water treated for radioactive elements from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean. This has provoked concerns from Russia, China, North and South Korea. In addition, about 30 Japanese civil organizations, including the national Japan Fisheries Cooperatives, as well as local municipal authorities in the Fukushima prefecture, oppose the release of treated water into the ocean.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has backed Japan's initiative, saying it will send experts to monitor the process.