Iaea To Continue Asessing Plan To Release Treated Water From Fukushima Daiichi
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says his organization will continue to assess Japan's plan to discharge diluted treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi made the remarks during talks with Japanese industry minister Hagiuda Koichi in Tokyo on Wednesday. The two discussed a release plan that the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, drew up based on the government policy.
Water used to cool the molten nuclear fuel mixes with rain and groundwater. It is treated to remove most of the radioactive materials, but the filtered water which is accumulating at the plant still contains tritium.
According to the plan, the water will be diluted to lower the concentration of tritium to levels below national regulations, before the water is discharged into the ocean. The plan targets next spring for the release of the treated water.
At the meeting, Hagiuda referred to the IAEA task force's visit to Japan earlier this year to assess the plan. He noted that the assessment is very important for gaining the understanding of people at home and abroad for the release, and vowed full support for the effort.
Grossi said the IAEA will continue checking the plan.
Later the meeting was closed to media. Grossi is quoted as saying that once the IAEA's review is complete, people around the world would be convinced that the treated water release would not adversely affect people's health or environment.
Grossi's three-day visit started on Wednesday. He is scheduled to visit the Fukushima Daiichi plant on Thursday and inspect reactor decommissioning procedures and the storing of the treated water. He will also hold talks with Tokyo Electric Power officials.
The IAEA says it will publish a report on the Japan's discharge plan by next spring, based on the task force assessment, the director general's inspection among others.