"No Safety Issues"... Japan Officially Approves Fukushima Contaminated Water Discharge Plan

Strong Opposition from Local Fishermen's Groups and Others

Workers wearing protective suits are passing by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), a contaminated water treatment facility, at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Omae, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Meanwhile, the Japanese government has officially approved the plan to discharge contaminated water generated at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Wooseok] Japan has officially approved the plan to discharge contaminated water (referred to as "treated water" by the Japanese government) from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean.

According to a report by Kyodo News on the 22nd, the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan held a public consultation and then made an official approval decision on the contaminated water ocean discharge plan, stating that "there are no safety issues."

Earlier, the Japanese government decided in April last year to treat the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), dilute it with seawater to reduce the concentration of the radioactive substance tritium below the standard level, and then discharge it.

The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), applied for a review of this plan to the Nuclear Regulation Authority in December of the same year, and the authority approved the plan submitted by TEPCO in May this year.

With the completion of the Nuclear Regulation Authority's approval process, TEPCO will obtain consent from the relevant local governments and begin construction work for the facilities needed to discharge the contaminated water in earnest.

The Japanese government and TEPCO plan to start discharging the contaminated water into the sea about 1 km offshore from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant using an underwater tunnel from next spring.

However, local fishermen's groups and others still strongly oppose the plan.

Meanwhile, when contaminated water is purified using ALPS, 62 types of radioactive substances including cesium can be removed. However, tritium is not filtered out.