Japan prepares to start dumping 540 Olympic-sized pools of Fukushima waste water into the Pacific
- Each of the 1.34 million cubic metres of waste water will be diluted with 1,200 cubic metres of seawater before release, plant operator Tepco said
- The release, set to take several decades, has been endorsed by the UN’s nuclear watchdog, which said it will have staff on site for the start
Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), the plant operator, said on Tuesday that it diluted a cubic metre of the waste water with around 1,200 cubic metres of seawater and allowed it to flow into position in a pipe.
This water will be tested and then from Thursday released into the sea together with more water stored at the site that will be transferred and diluted, Tepco said in a statement.
TEPCO has since collected 1.34 million cubic metres of water – almost 540 Olympic swimming pools’ worth – used to cool what remains of the still highly radioactive reactors, mixed with groundwater and rain.
A special system has filtered out all radioactive nuclides except for tritium, levels of which will be well within safe limits, according to Tepco.
China and Russia accuse Japan of dumping Fukushima water for cost reasons
China on Tuesday summoned Japan’s ambassador “to make solemn representations”, while Hong Kong and Macau announced bans on imports of “aquatic products” from the same 10 regions.