Japan’s diluted nuclear wastewater discharged into the sea International Atomic Energy Agency: this is the usual practice of countries

The Japanese government officially finalized the policy of diluting the nuclear wastewater from Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea on the 13th, and obtained the endorsement of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a nuclear watchdog under the United Nations. Practice.

The Japanese government has asked TEPCO to discharge the “treated nuclear effluent” after 2 years, and the plan is expected to take decades. The future will first dilute the nuclear wastewater stored in the Daiichi nuclear power plant to reduce the tritium concentration to 1/40th of the Japanese national standard and 1/7th of the drinking water standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO), and then discharge.

IAEA Administrator Rafael Mariano Grossi issued a statement on the 13th welcoming Japan’s decision and stressing that the IAEA is ready to support Japan in the treatment of nuclear wastewater from Fukushima.

Grossi said, “The decision taken by the Japanese government today is a milestone that will pave the way for the long-running efforts to decommission the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.” He stressed that the Japanese government’s decision is consistent with international practice, although the sheer volume of water stored at the Fukushima nuclear facility makes it a unique and complex case.

The Japan Times noted that it is in fact common practice for nuclear power plants around the world that are adjacent to the sea to discharge nuclear wastewater containing tritium into the sea. Although the current purification system cannot separate tritium from nuclear wastewater, tritium is so low in radioactivity that its external radiation poses no health risk and does not enter fish or humans through the food chain.

NHK reported that Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Fukushima government will also strengthen the monitoring of the concentration before and after the release, and under the supervision of IAEA to release objective and transparent information, will also assist fishermen to promote and attract tourists, and if fishermen lose due to negative perceptions, Tokyo Electric Power will also compensate.