Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Inspects Contaminated Water Discharge Facility: "No Major Issues"

It Seems Likely That Release Will Be Forced This Summer

Yamanaka Shinsuke, chairman of the Japan Nuclear Regulation Authority, inspected the facilities for the discharge of contaminated water (referred to as treated water by the Japanese government) from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on the 24th and evaluated that "the construction is progressing steadily without major issues," Kyodo News reported.

Yamanaka Shinsuke, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan (left), is inspecting the contaminated water discharge facility at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on the 24th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the media outlet, Chairman Yamanaka checked the tanks where the contaminated water is diluted by mixing with seawater, as well as the facilities that can urgently stop the discharge in case of abnormal situations. He requested Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which operates the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, to "carry out operations carefully to prevent human errors."

The Nuclear Regulation Authority plans to start the final inspection of the facilities before TEPCO discharges the contaminated water on the 28th. Considering that some construction work is not yet completed, Chairman Yamanaka did not specify the exact timing for the completion of the pre-discharge inspection. Kyodo News reported that once this inspection is completed, the preparation process for the discharge facilities will be virtually finished.

The Japanese government has announced plans to begin discharging the contaminated water this summer, but opposition continues from local fishermen, some neighboring countries, and Pacific island nations ahead of the discharge. Kyodo News pointed out that "the Japanese government has not disclosed the conditions or timing for deciding to start the discharge of contaminated water."

TEPCO plans to send the contaminated water purified by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) through an approximately 1 km-long undersea tunnel to be discharged into the ocean. After completing the excavation of the undersea tunnel in April, 6,000 tons of seawater were injected, and from the 12th of this month, the discharge facilities underwent a test operation for about two weeks.

The Japanese government is expected to proceed with the discharge of contaminated water this summer if the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does not point out any significant issues in the report to be released soon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.