IAEA "Samples of Japanese Contaminated Water to be Analyzed Further with Korea... Results to be Announced in the Second Half of the Year"

Joint Project with Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety
Report Containing Analysis Results to Be Published

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has decided to jointly conduct additional analysis of contaminated water samples from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant with South Korea's Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) and to publish a report within the second half of this year.

The IAEA emblem displayed on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) building within the Vienna International Centre (VIC) in Vienna, Austria
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the IAEA on the 5th (local time), the second and third rounds of analysis on contaminated water samples stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan will be conducted by the IAEA's Radiochemistry Laboratory (TERC) and South Korea's Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety.

Previously, the IAEA conducted the first round of analysis on the contaminated water samples and released a comprehensive report on the safety review of the Fukushima Daiichi contaminated water discharge, which included the results of the first analysis.

The main conclusion of the first analysis was that "no additional radionuclides beyond the existing radioactive isotopes were found at significant levels." The first analysis involved three IAEA-affiliated research institutes including TERC, as well as research facilities from South Korea, France, Switzerland, and the United States.

The additional analysis will be conducted using an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) method similar to that used in the first analysis. This will involve the IAEA's Radiochemistry Laboratory (TERC) located in Seibersdorf near Vienna, Austria, and the ALMERA laboratory of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety. ALMERA is an institution designated by the IAEA, which has cooperated with KINS, as a hub laboratory for the Asia-Pacific region.

The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety and TERC received the contaminated water samples in November last year to perform the additional analysis. The two institutions will analyze the samples to check whether radioactive isotopes are detected at activity concentrations exceeding limits and will also compare their analysis results with those from Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The IAEA stated that the report containing the analysis results is scheduled to be published in the second half of this year.

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