IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi attends a news conference during a meeting of directors at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria on June 7th, 2021. TOKYO, September 9 Reuters - A plan to release radioactive water of the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean will be examined in December by the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA Japan industry ministry.
In a move that angered local fishermen as well as China and South Korea, Japan announced in April that it would release more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima power plant, which was destroyed by earthquake and tsunami a decade ago. To gain trust from the fishermen and neighbouring countries, Japan has requested IAEA officials to conduct a review to assess and advise on the handling of the water from the perspective of a nuclear expert organisation.
The latest plan was set by the Japanese government and Lydie Evrard, deputy director general of IAEA, who visited Japan this week to kick off discussions about their collaboration over the safety review of the planned water release.
Experts will assess the condition of the water to be released, the safety of the disposal procedure and the effects of radiation in accordance with IAEA safety standards, the ministry said.
The main objective of our review is to be objective and transparent with a scientific-based approach, Evrard told reporters.
Experts will be selected by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and will likely include experts from countries such as China and South Korea, she said.
Japan sought the IAEA's cooperation to ensure transparency of water release for neighbouring countries and the local community, especially neighbouring nations which are opposed to oceanic discharge.
Evrard said the agency will listen to various stakeholders concerns, Evrard said.
On August 21 -- December 2015, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power 9501 issued as Tokyo Electric Power 9501. T planned to discharge the water from a point about 1 km 0.6 miles offshore from the Fukushima station, after treatment and dilution, in a region approximately 1 km offshore. The release could begin as early as spring 2023, read more
The IAEA will continue to issue a report on the review before Spring 2023 and issue a safety review after the water release, Evrard said.