IAEA: "Japan's 7th Fukushima Tritium Discharge Below Standard Limits"

Concentration 260 Bq... 7,800t Scheduled for Discharge

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has released an analysis showing that the concentration of radioactive nuclides in the contaminated water from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (referred to by the Japanese government as "treated water") is below Japan's own regulatory limits.

According to the IAEA on the 28th (local time), experts stationed at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant independently collected and analyzed samples from the seventh discharge site. As of 6:45 p.m. Japan time on that day, the concentration of tritium in the diluted contaminated water was measured at 260 becquerels (Bq) per liter (ℓ).

This value is below Japan's operational limit of 1,500 Bq per liter. The World Health Organization (WHO) guideline for tritium concentration in drinking water is 10,000 Bq per liter.

Japan is discharging contaminated water stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea after processing it through the ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) to remove multiple radionuclides and diluting it with seawater. Although the ALPS treatment removes many radioactive nuclides, tritium, one of the radionuclides, remains in the contaminated water. In all seven on-site inspections conducted by the IAEA so far, the tritium concentration has been found to be below Japan's regulatory limits.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) began the first ocean discharge in August last year and has released approximately 47,000 tons of contaminated water into the sea off the Fukushima plant in six separate discharges up to last month. The volume of water to be discharged during the seventh discharge, which will continue from this day until the 16th of next month, is 7,800 tons, the same scale as the previous discharge.