Japan regulator says release of treated Fukushima water can go ahead, locals and China worried
- Plan adopted by government and endorsed by IAEA, but operator TEPCO faces resistance from fishing communities worried nobody will buy their fish
- There has also been criticism from regional neighbours including China and South Korea, as well as environmental groups such as Greenpeace
Japan’s nuclear regulator on Friday formally approved a plan to release more than a million tonnes of treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean.
The plan has already been adopted by the government and endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but plant operator TEPCO must still win over local communities before going ahead.
The country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority approved TEPCO’s plan, according to a foreign ministry statement, which said the government would ensure the safety of the treated water as well as the “reliability and transparency of its handling”.
Cooling systems at the plant were overwhelmed by a tsunami triggered by a massive undersea quake on March 11, 2011, causing the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Decommissioning work is under way and expected to take around four decades, with painstaking efforts to remove molten fuel from damaged reactors among the tasks ahead.
Each day, the site produces 140 cubic metres of contaminated water – a combination of groundwater, seawater and rainwater that seeps into the area, and water used for cooling.