Fukushima water released without technical concerns, IAEA says - The Japan Times
Fukushima water released without technical concerns, IAEA says - The Japan Times
Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the sea is "progressing as planned and without any technical concerns," the U.N. nuclear watchdog has said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency wrapped up its safety review Friday, two months after the discharge began at the northeastern Japan complex devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. It plans to compile a report on its latest four-day mission by year-end.
The IAEA safety review "will continue to proceed in an independent, objective, science-based and transparent manner, during the discharge and after," it said on its website.
Seven IAEA officials and experts from nine of the 11 task force member countries, including China and Russia — which have criticized the release and imposed import bans on Japanese seafood — took part in the review mission, which involved an on-site inspection of the water treatment and discharge facilities at the nuclear complex.
During their stay, the members of the mission also exchanged opinions with officials of the Japanese government, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. and the Nuclear Regulation Authority over the operation of the discharge facility at the plant and environmental monitoring procedures.
Since August, the plant operator has ejected about 15,600 tons of water treated with a liquid processing system that removes most radionuclides except tritium. The tritium is diluted with seawater, leaving it with a concentration level 1/40th of that permitted under Japanese safety standards, before it is discharged.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.