Japan Begins 4th Discharge of Contaminated Water from Fukushima Nuclear Plant... 7,800t Scheduled for Release

Ends on the 17th of next month

Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant began its fourth discharge of contaminated water on the 28th. The discharge is expected to be completed by the 17th of next month.

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Japan's Kyodo News, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) started the fourth marine discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on this day. TEPCO plans to release approximately 7,800 tons of contaminated water into the sea in front of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant during this discharge. TEPCO has stated that monitoring results of the surrounding sea area during the first to third discharges showed that radioactive materials were all below the standard levels.

Previously, TEPCO discharged 23,351 tons of contaminated water over three rounds. Including the fourth discharge, a total of about 31,200 tons of contaminated water is planned to be disposed of.

TEPCO has set a plan to discharge 54,600 tons of contaminated water over seven rounds in the second discharge fiscal year 2024 (April 2024 to March 2025). The amount of contaminated water discharged per round in 2024 will remain the same as before, at 7,800 tons.

On this day, TEPCO also began an internal investigation of the containment vessel of Reactor No. 1 at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. An internal investigation of the structure will be conducted on the 29th. TEPCO plans to use the information obtained from the investigation when reviewing methods for extracting nuclear fuel debris.