IAEA panel will visit Fukushima nuclear plant later this month, Japan says - Reuters
IAEA panel will visit Fukushima nuclear plant later this month, Japan says | Reuters
IAEA panel will visit Fukushima nuclear plant later this month, Japan says
An aerial view shows the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which started releasing treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan August 24, 2023, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Kyodo/via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Japan on Friday said a task force from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit the Fukushima nuclear power plant later this month for the first time since it started releasing the plant's treated radioactive water in August.
The Oct. 24-27 visit will include experts from Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, South Korea, Marshall Islands, Russia, the United States, United Kingdom and Vietnam, the Japanese industry ministry said.
Japan's release of water from the Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean prompted China to ban all seafood imports from Japan. Russia has recently joined China in saying that Japan was not transparent enough about the safety of the water, a view that Japan and the U.S. have said is groundless.
Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; editing by Christina Fincher
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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.