Useful ocean

February 17, 2015

IAEA: Consider releasing treated water into ocean

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150217_36.html

Feb. 17, 2015 - Updated 13:04 UTC+1

The International Atomic Energy Agency has advised Japan's government and the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to work out plans to treat radioactive wastewater from a long-term view.

The UN agency suggested the plans would include discharging treated wastewater into the sea.

An IAEA team of experts has ended 9 days of checking Japan's efforts to decommission the crippled plant. The team visited the site and interviewed officials of the government and the operator, TEPCO.

At a news conference on Tuesday, team leader Juan Carlos Lentijo cited as future challenges accumulating wastewater at the plant and radioactive waste to be generated during the decommissioning process.

Lentijo said the water contains radioactive tritium, which cannot be removed by filtering devices. He said more tanks will be needed to store such water but that there will be a shortage of space for them.

He noted that the government and the operator should have a long-term view to carry out decommissioning work safely and without delay. He advised them to consider options including discharging filtered water into the sea.

He also urged the Japanese side to come up with a plan to control a large amount of radioactive waste to be generated in the decommissioning process.

The IAEA team is to publish its final report by the end of March. The government plans to reflect the report in future decommissioning and revising of a timetable for the work.