Japan is set to begin a controversial discharge of treated tritium-laced water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Thursday, a major step in the decommissioning process for the reactors hit by a triple meltdown following the March 2011 earthquake-triggered tsunami.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco), the plant’s operator, plans to start releasing the water at 1 p.m. if weather and sea conditions permit, Kyodo News reported.
The water release comes more than two years after the government gave the green light to the plan in April 2021, amid opposition from the local fishing industry and residents worried over the reputational damage it could cause for Fukushima products. Some neighboring countries have also opposed the plan.
Over the upcoming decades, Tepco is expected to gradually dispose of millions of tons of water, stored in tanks on the premises of the plant, into the Pacific Ocean about 1 kilometer offshore via an undersea tunnel.
Radioactive material contained in the water — which was used to cool the reactors damaged in the nuclear meltdown — has been treated with a purification system called Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) that removes 62 radionuclides to levels in line with national standards, with the exception of tritium. The water is set to further be diluted with sea water in an effort to ensure that the level of tritium reaches a fortieth of government standards before it is discharged.
Current technology doesn’t allow for the substantial removal of tritium, which, if kept within regulatory standards, is not regarded as harmful to the environment.
Soon after the government’s final decision on Tuesday, Tepco set out to conduct supplementary tests on the treated water to ensure that the level of tritium reaches one-fortieth of government standards before the discharge.
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