IAEA: Decision on Fukushima wastewater release up to Japan

IAEA: Decision on Fukushima wastewater release up to Japan

SeattlePI.com

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TOKYO (AP) — The head of a taskforce from the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday it is examining whether Japan's planned release into the sea of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant meets international standards, but the decision on whether to go ahead with the plan is up to the Japanese government.

Gustavo Caruso, director of the IAEA's Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, said his team has no power to decide whether Japan should suspend the release even if it does not fully follow international safety standards.

The government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, announced a plan last year to begin releasing the treated wastewater into the sea beginning next spring. They said more than 1 million tons of water stored in about 1,000 tanks inside the plant hampers its decommissioning and poses risks of leaks in case of a major earthquake or tsunami.

IAEA is cooperating with Japan’s government to increase the safety and transparency of the water discharge.

Caruso said the IAEA's independent evaluation of the plan “will provide confidence to the society, Japanese society, neighbors, other member states.”

His 16-member team, including experts from nine countries, including China and South Korea, was in Japan this week to study the water discharge plan. During their visit, the second this year, they met with government and utility officials and visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Wednesday.

A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the Fukushima plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and release large amounts of radiation. Water used to cool the damaged reactor cores, which remain highly radioactive, has since leaked into the basements of the reactor buildings...

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