The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is satisfied with the process of releasing tritium-containing treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi NPP into the sea, IAEA Director-General Rafael Marino Grossi said during a visit to Japan.
The earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that resulted in triple meltdowns at the NPP caused large amounts of radioactive wastewater to accumulate. After more than a decade of clean-up work, the plant began discharging the water after treating it and diluting it with large amounts of seawater in #august 2023 – a process expected to take some 30 years.
The results of the water release so far have been "in line with what we were expecting" and "really to my satisfaction," he told reporters during his visit to the plant. He noted that the water release has a long way to go, but he described the operation so far as a "very encouraging start." He said that the IAEA will continue monitoring the operation.
Earlier he had inspected safety equipment related to the water discharge accompanied by Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) President Tomoaki Kobayakawa and observed firsthand the ongoing wastewater discharges for the first time. He also examined a water sampling station. Kobayakawa explained about the usage of the undersea tunnel to release water about 1 kilometre off the coast and described the system for halting the release operation if a problem occurs.
Grossi said talks are being held with China, which imposed a ban on Japanese fishery products after the start of the water release in August last year. The head of the U.N. atomic agency since the contentious program began months ago and called it an “encouraging start.”
Grossi last visited the plant in July after issuing an IAEA review predicting only negligible impact from the discharges. An IAEA comprehensive report later concluded that the discharges meet international safety standards. Grossi also met with Japanese Environment Minister Shintaro Ito, the first in a series of talks with top Japanese officials planned for the three-day visit. Grossi in his meeting with Ito promised the IAEA’s cooperation in the disposal of the radioactive soil that resulted from decontamination across the Fukushima prefecture.
The soil has been in an interim storage facility in Fukushima. A government plan to recycle it for road construction and other public works after safety tests has met strong protests. The government has promised a final disposal plan outside of the prefecture by 2045.
Grossi also held talks with Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Economy & Industry Minister Ken Saito for discussions on cooperation in nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, North Korea and Iran as well as peaceful use of atomic energy, Japanese officials said.
During talks with Saito, Grossi offered technical assistance to improve the idled Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP in Niigata, operated by Tepco, which is keen to restart it as soon as possible. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa units 6&7 have passed regulators’ safety tests for a restart, but were suspended from making further preparations after security problems were revealed in 2021. IAEA is sending a team of experts to the plant shortly to assist Tepco’s efforts to gain public trust. “We want to be of assistance in helping Japan’s nuclear capacity to be up and running as soon as possible,” Grossi told Saito.
Image courtesy of IAEA