Report from Fukushima Inspection Team Missing Safety Conclusion... Will There Be a Hearing on Contaminated Water?

'Excluding Safety' Contaminated Water Inspection Team's Findings Announced
Opposition Party "Will Promote Fukushima Contaminated Water Hearing"

The government inspection team announced the results of their inspection of the radioactive contaminated water treatment facilities at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, but did not reach a conclusion on safety. The opposition criticized that the team only checked the facilities disclosed by the Japanese government and lacked substantial verification.

Yoo Guk-hee, chairperson of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission and head of the inspection team, held a briefing on the inspection results at the Government Seoul Office on the 31st and announced the main activities of the expert on-site inspection team. Previously, the inspection team, composed of a total of 21 experts in nuclear power plants, radiation, and marine environmental radioactivity, visited Japan for 5 nights and 6 days from the 21st to the 26th to conduct on-site inspections.

Yoo Guk-hee, head of the Japanese Fukushima nuclear power plant government inspection team, is announcing the results of the inspection activities at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on the 31st at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Through this on-site inspection, the team received data from facilities operated between 2019 and 2022 regarding 64 radionuclides for which annual concentration analyses are performed related to the removal performance of radioactive nuclides. Among these, for about 10 radionuclides with frequent detection history, inlet and outlet concentrations measured weekly were secured.

Chairperson Yoo stated, "We focused on inspecting the removal performance of radioactive nuclides by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) and the possibility of long-term stable operation," adding, "During the inspection, we requested and obtained raw data of inlet and outlet concentrations of contaminated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) for the ALPS."

Yoo also said, "Through this inspection, we confirmed that the main facilities are installed on-site as designed and verified the means to block the release of contaminated water in case of abnormal situations," and evaluated, "We secured specific data, which led to meaningful progress in the scientific and technical review process."

However, the inspection team stated, "Additional analysis and verification are necessary for more precise judgment," and thus postponed concluding on safety. Yoo said, "The possibility of long-term stable operation will be confirmed by analyzing failure cases secured so far and additionally obtaining ALPS regular inspection items and maintenance plans."

In response, the opposition party demanded a parliamentary hearing to properly verify the inspection team's activities. Yang Yi-won-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, wrote on her Facebook on the same day, "Is it possible to verify performance with concentration analysis of the Advanced Liquid Processing System conducted only once a year?" and added, "Saying they 'checked' all kinds of facilities just means they looked at them on-site."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 31st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party, issued a statement on the same day announcing plans to push for a Fukushima contaminated water hearing. Park criticized, "Although the inspection team claimed meaningful progress, the lack of a final conclusion only amplified the public’s anxiety and anger."

He continued, "We will scrutinize the inspection team’s verification results mainly through relevant standing committees such as the Political Affairs Committee, Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs Committee, and Environment and Labor Committee," adding, "We will check all matters based on transparency, scientific validity, and objectivity from the public’s perspective and disclose them to the public. We will summon the inspection team and government officials as witnesses."

Kang Eun-mi, leader of the Justice Party’s Fukushima Contaminated Water Prevention Task Force, said on the same day, "The gist of the inspection team’s report is that they could not verify anything and only confirmed whether the facilities were operating properly," criticizing, "The meaningless inspection team report should be discarded. To stop the discharge procedure, the Japanese government must be sued at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea."