UPDATE - IAEA Mulls Sending Experts To Japan To Ensure Tokyo Plan To Dump Toxic Water Into Sea Safe

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2021) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is considering dispatching a multinational group of experts to Japan to help allay concerns over Tokyo's decision to discharge treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, IAEA head Rafael Grossi said in an interview with the NHK broadcaster published on Thursday.

According to the IAEA chief, the Japanese government had formally requested the agency's assistance in implementing the plan.

"We may be having advisors -- that might be coming from different areas, different countries, different expertise. Every serious concern has a chance to be discussed and to be analyzed technically," Grossi said, adding the team is set to help dispel concerns by verifying that the process is safe.

The nuclear watchdog's head also said that the agency would consider whether to include experts from neighboring countries, such as South Korea, in the team.

"All of these concerns -- we may agree or disagree, but they have to be taken seriously. We have a common responsibility," Grossi added.

The exact timing of the possible dispatch of the group has not been announced yet. According to the IAEA head, the agency has already agreed with the Japanese government to determine the format of the research by this summer, after which experts may be sent in a short time.

Japan on Thursday welcomed the agency's plan and expressed readiness to assist the expert team on the issue.

"We welcome the analysis of water discharge from nuclear power plants by IAEA experts. We are ready to provide constructive assistance on this issue," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters.

With the Fukushima plant, which suffered the world's second-worst nuclear disaster in 2011 as a result of a devastating tsunami, running out of storage capacity, Japan announced its decision to release treated toxic water into the ocean earlier this week. The plan has sparked major concerns among neighboring countries over its safety.

In a bid to allay these concerns, Kato said that the level of radioactive elements in the water from the disabled plant that would undergo cleaning would be 40 times lower than national standards for drinking water and seven times lower than standards set by the World Health Organization. Japan also pledged to take action to ensure transparency, including for monitoring by third parties like the IAEA.