By Nabilah Saleh
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 (NNN-Bernama) — Japan began discharging the treated water from the Fukushima Daaiichi nuclear power plant into the sea at noon Thursday, and will monitor radioactivity levels in the sea and the surroundings with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
First Secretary of the Japanese embassy in Malaysia Yosuke Kurotani said with the continued IAEA’s involvement from an independent standpoint, Japan and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) remain committed to ensure a safe discharge.
“After the start of the discharge into the sea, Japan will continue to conduct three types of monitoring namely monitoring of treated water in tanks, real-time monitoring, and sea area monitoring.
“If some event occurs, such as radioactivity levels exceeding standards, appropriate measures including stopping the discharge or suspending the discharge will be taken.
“Furthermore, the results of monitoring by the Japanese government and TEPCO will be made public both domestically and internationally. We will continue to make every effort to ensure a safe discharge, with the continued involvement of the IAEA, including its reviews.”
Kurotani told this to Bernama when asked on the ongoing preparations at the Fukushima power plant, which on Thursday will release more than 1.33 million cubic metres of treated water that has accumulated on the site since the 2011 nuclear disaster following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
Kurotani pointed out the decision to release the treated water was made based on the technical validation process, along with weather and sea conditions during the wastewater discharge.
“Specifically, when releasing Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water into the ocean, it has already been confirmed that radioactive substances other than tritium are below the regulatory standards before release, and only tritium that meets the regulatory standards will be released into the ocean.
“However, it will take about two days to confirm the final safety. On top of that, if there are no problems with weather and sea conditions, the waste water is expected to be released into the sea on Aug 24,” he said.
Kurotani noted that the discharge will be carried out by TEPCO with all IAEA staff already stationed at the TEPCO Fukushima power station.
Global communities could check and follow the latest updates on the historical event through TEPSO’s official website, https://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommission/progress/watertreatment/index-e.html.
International media reported the Japanese government has said that releasing the water is a necessary step in the lengthy and costly process of decommissioning the plant, which sits on the country’s east coast, about 220km (137 miles) northeast of the capital Tokyo.
Japan has been collecting and storing the contaminated water in tanks for more than a decade, but space is running out, added the reports.
However, neighbours South Korea and China have voiced their opposition on Japan’s move to discharge the waste water into the sea fearing the move could have negative long term consequences.
Meanwhile, after Japan started discharging the water into the sea, China’s ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement reiterated that the country firmly opposed and strongly condemned the move.
“Its impact goes beyond Japan’s borders, and the issue is by no means a private matter for Japan. Since humanity began using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, there has been neither any precedent nor universally recognized standards for discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean,” the statement read.
— NNN-BERNAMA
