Discharge of water from Fukushima nuclear plant meets IAEA safety standards, report concludes

In a report  presented by director general Rafael Mariano Grossi to Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo yesterday, July 4, 2023, the IAEA added that the discharges of the treated water would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station was seriously damaged in 2011 by an earthquake and tsunami that devastated the site.

The new report is the outcome of nearly two years of work by an IAEA Task Force made up of specialists from the agency who were advised by nuclear safety experts from 11 countries.

“Based on its comprehensive assessment, the IAEA has concluded that the approach and activities to the discharge of ALPS [Advanced Liquid Processing System] treated water taken by Japan are consistent with relevant international safety standards,” Grossi said in a foreword of the report. “Furthermore, the IAEA notes the controlled, gradual discharges of the treated water to the sea, as currently planned and assessed by TEPCO [Tokyo Electric Power Company], would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.”