UN body to deliver safety review on Fukushima treated water release

 

The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog will deliver a comprehensive safety review on Japan's controversial plan to release huge amounts of treated and diluted nuclear wastewater from the crippled Fukushima plant, reported German news agency (dpa).

Rafael Grossi (above), director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is set to hand over the report to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tomorrow.

During his four-day visit, Grossi will also travel to the Fukushima Daiichi plant and inaugurate an IAEA field office at the site.

Kishida's government promised to first study the IAEA's assessment before making a final decision on the timing of the discharges into the sea, which could come as soon as this summer.

The wastewater, currently stored in about 1,000 huge tanks, is to be filtered and diluted before being released through an underwater tunnel that extends a kilometre into the sea.

On March 11, 2011, a tsunami triggered by a huge earthquake rammed into the Japanese coast, leading to thousands of deaths and a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Even 12 years on, water is needed to cool the reactors that were destroyed. The water has been stored in hundreds of huge tanks.

But knowing that the storage capacity was finite, plans were made to filter the contaminated water, then dilute it and discharge it into the Pacific Ocean.

Opposition has been fierce from local fishermen who fear a wary public will not want to consume their hauls. They note, for instance, the process cannot remove the radioactive substance tritium.

But nuclear experts in Japan and at the UN say there is no danger because the diluted wastewater will only contain a trace amount that is not harmful to humans.

- Bernama-dpa