Seoul wants to ‘address safety and environmental concerns’

Tanks at Fukushima-Daiichi are nearly full and will reach capacity in early 2024. Courtesy IAEA.

A team of specialists from South Korea has arrived in Japan to conduct an inspection of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station and meet officials to discuss conflicts over a plan to release treated but still slightly radioactive water into the sea.

The 21-member South Korean delegation is particularly interested in examining the Fukushima-Daiichi’s plant’s custom-built water purification system, known as Alps. Japanese officials have endorsed the effectiveness of the Alps system, which removes most of the radioactivity from the water. Tritium, which cannot be removed by Alps, and some very low levels of other radionuclides, remain in the water after processing.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry has said that Alps-treated water will be sufficiently diluted before the discharges so that the concentrations of radioactive materials will be far below the regulatory standards for safety.

South Korea has yet to formally agree to the plan to release the contaminated water into the ocean.

The leader of the South Korean team, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission chairperson Yoo Guk-hee, said the purpose of the visit is to address safety and environmental concerns on behalf of the South Korean public. South Korean territorial waters begin approximately 1,000 km (630 miles) from Fukushima.

“We have scientific standards, and we will inspect and examine facilities based on those standards,” Yoo said at a news conference outside Tokyo. “And if we identify problems during the process, we will absolutely put them on the table. We will look to reach a comprehensive conclusion.”

The South Koreans were briefed by their Japanese counterparts regarding the water treatment details and discharge plans before beginning their visit to Fukushima on Tuesday, followed by “in-depth technical discussions” at the end of the week.

First Visit For South Korean Experts

While not considered a formal inspection, this is the first time that independent experts from South Korea have visited the Fukushima-Daiichi station and according to press reports represents a further warming of relations between the two nations.

The visit follows a recent summit between South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, after which Japanese officials announced their willingness to help address concerns about food safety in South Korea.

In March 2011 an earthquake occurred offshore from Fukushima prefecture and the subsequent tsunami severely damaged Fukushima-Daiichi’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt down and the release of significant amounts of radiation.

The facility is storing about 1.3 million tonnes of water treated by Alps. Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), owner and operators of the Fukushima-Daiichi station, said that the hundreds of tanks at the site are nearly full and will reach their capacity of 1.37 million tonnes in early 2024.

Both Tepco and the Japanese government say that the tanks must be emptied in order to facilitate the plant’s decommissioning and avoid the risk of leaks in the event of another natural disaster.

The water was largely used to cool the three damaged reactor cores, which remain highly radioactive. Some of it has since leaked into basements of the reactor buildings but was collected and stored in tanks.

Japanese authorities have said there is no practical alternative to releasing the water as storage space ran out. They said there is no risk to human health and that operating nuclear plants around the world release similar water every day.

Five disposal methods for the water were being considered by the government: controlled discharge into the sea, ground injection, discharge as steam, discharge as hydrogen, and solidification for underground burial.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency is reviewing and monitoring Japan’s plans to ensure the water release plans are in line with its safety standards.

The Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station before the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.