Tokyo (EFE).- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supported on Tuesday the Japanese Executive’s plan to dump the treated water from the Fukushima plant into the sea and said that the measures taken by the Asian country are “in accordance with relevant international safety standards”.
“Based on its comprehensive assessment, the IAEA concluded that the approach and activities for the discharge of ALPS treated water taken by Japan are in line with relevant international safety standards,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, in the foreword to a report published today.
Two years of investigations
The IAEA’s comprehensive assessment, released today after two years of research, also notes that “gradual and controlled” discharges into the sea will have “negligible” radiological impact on people and the environment.
The publication of the document comes as the Japanese government finalizes preparations to dump tons of radiation-contaminated and purified water into the Pacific this summer, a controversial measure that has aroused criticism from the local population and neighboring countries.
Grossi said that the report issued today “represents an important milestone in the IAEA’s review,” but assured that the body continues its work and will continue to “provide transparency to the international community, making it possible for all parties to trust the verified data and in science”.
How contaminated water was processed until now
Until now, the highly contaminated water generated by the plant is processed in circuits called ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) to remove most of the radioactive elements, with the exception of tritium, and is again stored in drums before being discharged into the sea.
The Japanese Government and TEPCO, owner of the damaged atomic power plant, made this decision due to the inability to continue storing water in tanks installed on the land of the power plant, due to the lack of physical space.
“We will not allow a water spill that could affect the health of the Japanese or people around the world, nor the environment,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a press conference after his meeting with Grossi.
In addition to meeting with senior Japanese officials, Grossi will also visit the plant in the northeast of the country this Wednesday, devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and will inaugurate an IAEA office in its vicinity that will become active once the spill begins. , on a date yet to be determined.