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Tokyo (AFP) – Japan plans to begin releasing more than a million tons of treated water from the troubled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea this year, a government source said on Friday.
The plan was backed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but the government will await “a comprehensive report” from the UN body before releasing water, Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.
The plant’s cooling systems were overwhelmed in 2011 when a powerful underwater earthquake triggered a tsunami that caused the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
The site generated 100 cubic meters of contaminated water per day between April and November last year, a combination of groundwater, seawater and rainwater that mixed with cooling water.
The liquid is filtered to eliminate radionuclides and transferred to storage tanks, which already hold more than 1.3 million cubic meters and space is running out.
“We expect the release to take place sometime between spring and summer” after the release facilities are completed and tested and the full IAEA report is published,” Matsuno said.
Despite the precautions, fishermen in the region fear the release of the water will tarnish the reputation of their product, after they have spent years restoring its credibility through rigorous testing.
The company that operates the plant ensures that the treated water meets national parameters for radionuclide levels, with the exception of one element, tritium, which experts say is only harmful to humans on a large scale.
The plan is to dilute the water to reduce tritium levels and release it into the sea over several decades through a kilometer-long underwater pipeline.
The IAEA said the release meets international standards and “will not cause any harm to the environment.”
Neighboring countries such as China and South Korea, as well as Greenpeace and other organizations, have criticized the plan.
The March 2011 disaster in northeast Japan left some 18,500 people dead or missing, mostly victims of the tsunami.
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