Japan Issues 'Contaminated Water Discharge' Approval Certificate to Tokyo Electric Power Company... Discharge Likely in August

An employee of Tokyo Electric Power Company explained to reporters about the radioactive contaminated water discharge facility at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on the 26th of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan has issued a certificate of approval for the contaminated water discharge facility at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). It is expected that the discharge will begin in August.

According to Kyodo News on the 7th, the Nuclear Regulation Authority judged that there were no issues after inspecting the contaminated water discharge facility and issued a "completion certificate," equivalent to a facility approval certificate, to TEPCO on the same day.

TEPCO completed the discharge-related facilities, including the underwater tunnel used for discharging contaminated water, on the 26th of last month. Subsequently, the Nuclear Regulation Authority Secretariat, the Nuclear Regulation Agency, conducted on-site inspections from the 28th to the 30th of last month to check for leaks or abnormalities in the facilities sending contaminated water to the sea.

Kyodo News reported that with the Nuclear Regulation Authority giving a passing grade to the contaminated water discharge facility, all the prerequisites for the discharge, which the Japanese government had stated would occur "around summer," have been fulfilled.

Kyodo News also stated, "The Japanese government is considering starting the discharge after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a related ministers' meeting and a notification period. It appears likely that the discharge will take place in August, depending on the political schedule."

Prime Minister Kishida told reporters on the day, "We will continue to politely explain domestically and internationally about ensuring safety and measures against reputational damage," adding, "There is no change in the policy that the discharge timing will be around summer."

On the 4th, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also delivered to Prime Minister Kishida the IAEA comprehensive report evaluating that the contaminated water ocean discharge plan complies with international safety standards.

TEPCO plans to dilute the tritium concentration in the contaminated water, which cannot be filtered by ALPS, to less than 1,500 becquerels (Bq) per liter?1/40th of the domestic regulatory standard?and discharge it into the sea about 1 km away from the nuclear power plant.

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