Discharges into sea one option to "treat" contaminated water

February 13, 2014

IAEA: Consider discharging contaminated water

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140214_07.html 

The International Atomic Energy Agency has advised the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to examine all options to treat contaminated water. These include resuming controlled discharges of radioactive water into the sea.

At Japan's request, the IAEA sent its second inspection team to the crippled nuclear power plant last November to assess efforts to scrap reactors at the facility.

On Thursday, the IAEA released its final report that was submitted to the Japanese government.

Team leader Juan Carlos Lentijo says Japan has established a good foundation to improve its strategy and allocate the necessary resources to conduct the safe decommissioning of the plant.
But Lentijo adds that the situation remains very complex and there will continue to be challenging issues that must be resolved to ensure the plant's long-term stability.

The report says the IAEA team believes it is necessary to find a sustainable solution to the problem of managing contaminated water at the plant. It says that this would require considering all options, including the possible resumption of controlled discharges to the sea.

The report adds that to pursue this option, the operator Tokyo Electric Power Company should prepare appropriate safety and environmental impact assessments and submit them for regulatory review.

Feb. 13, 2014 - Updated 23:04 UTC