Japanese Nuclear Regulator Approves Water Discharge Plan For Fukushima NPP - Reports

Japanese Nuclear Regulator Approves Water Discharge Plan for Fukushima NPP - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2022) Japanese nuclear regulator has approved a plan to discharge low-level radioactive waters, free from all radionuclides except for tritium, from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) into the ocean, Japanese media reported on Wednesday.

The NHK broadcaster said the regulator will gauge public opinions for about a month before granting the operator official permission, the report said.

Under the plan presented by the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), last December, a 1-kilometer (0.6 mile) underwater tunnel will be carrying treated water from the plant's Unit 5 to the ocean. Specialists are expected to be monitoring the concentration of radioactive elements at a distance of 2 kilometers and 20 kilometers, as well as in the bay directly next to the plant.

The tunnel is scheduled to become operational in spring 2023.

Local companies involved in fishing, agriculture and tourism have expressed concerns about potential reputational damage to their goods and services. The government has responded by committing to compensating companies affected by disinformation about the release of radioactive water into ocean.

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi will travel to Japan on Wednesday to visit the Fukushima plant and study the treated water release plan. He will stay in the country until Friday.

The first IAEA mission visited Japan in late April and gave its approval to the preparatory stage of the Fukushima NPP water release plan. Another mission is expected to go in the second half of 2022 to assess its compliance with IAEA safety standards before the beginning of the process.