Iaea Discusses Planned Fukushima Treated Water Release With Japan's Regulator
The International Atomic Energy Agency and Japan's nuclear regulator have discussed the plan to release treated water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea.
Nuclear Regulation Authority head Fuketa Toyoshi said at the meeting that he wants to hold frank talks from a broad perspective.
The IAEA's Gustavo Caruso said his team wants to conduct a scientific evaluation to promote international understanding of the planned release and to boost transparency.
The IAEA plans to examine the NRA's screening of the release plan until Friday. It says it will check documents submitted by the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, and talk to NRA officials to find out what has been discussed at meetings on the screening.
At the Fukushima Daiichi plant, water is used to cool molten nuclear fuel. The water is treated to remove most of the radioactive materials, but still contains radioactive tritium.
Japan's government plans to dilute the treated water to levels below national regulations. The diluted, treated water would be discharged into the ocean starting around spring 2023.
TEPCO intends to release the water about 1 kilometer offshore.