Press release 22-8-2023
The Government of Japan announced today that it requested Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) to promptly proceed with its preparations for the discharge into the sea of ALPS treated water stored at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, in accordance with the implementation plan approved by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority. If there is no interference due to weather or sea conditions, the discharge into the sea is expected to start on 24 August.
Over the past two years the IAEA has conducted a detailed review of the safety related aspects of handling and discharge of ALPS treated water and issued its comprehensive report 4 July 2023.
The report concluded that the approach and activities for this discharge are consistent with relevant international safety standards and would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.
The Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, has committed to the IAEA continuing its impartial, independent, and objective safety review during the discharge phase.
Therefore, the IAEA and Japan agreed that the IAEA will maintain an onsite presence at Fukushima Daiichi, and the IAEA has opened its IAEA Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) Office in July 2023.
IAEA staff are working there so that they can continue to monitor and assess these activities on site to ensure that they continue to be consistent with the safety standards, including on the day of the start of the discharge and after.
The IAEA will also publish available data for use by the global community, including the provision of real-time and near real-time monitoring data.
As soon as the discharge commences, the IAEA will provide a further update.
Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) today started discharging ALPS treated water stored at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the sea, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts present at the site confirmed.
As part of the IAEA’s multiyear safety review of the discharge, the IAEA team is present to monitor the discharge and assess Japan’s application of all relevant international safety standards for the water discharge.
“IAEA experts are there on the ground to serve as the eyes of the international community and ensure that the discharge is being carried out as planned consistent with IAEA safety standards,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. “Through our presence, we contribute to generating the necessary confidence that the process is carried out in a safe and transparent way”.
As an additional step in its monitoring, IAEA experts this week took samples from the first batch of diluted water prepared for discharge following the Japanese Government’s announcement on 22 August that the release would begin today.
The IAEA’s independent on-site analysis confirmed that the tritium concentration in the diluted water that is being discharged is far below the operational limit of 1,500 becquerels per litre.
The IAEA will have a presence on site for as long as the treated water is released, in line with Director General Grossi’s commitment for the IAEA to engage with Japan on the discharge of ALPS treated water before, during, and after the treated water discharges occur.
Additionally, the IAEA ia also launching today a webpage to provide live data from Japan on the water discharge. The data provided includes water flow rates, radiation monitoring data and the concentration of tritium after dilution.
