Aerial view of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. (image: Green Peace)
SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Japan has decided to release contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the open sea that is one kilometer away from the plant, Japanese media outlets reported Wednesday.
The contaminated water contains tritium, a radioactive substance.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the Fukushima plant, had been considering two options: releasing the contaminated water directly from the power plant, or releasing it to the open sea further away from the coast through a pipeline.
The company decided that releasing the water out in the open sea would allow it to be dispersed more quickly.
In April, the Japanese government decided that it would release the radioactively contaminated water from the power plant after filtering it with the advanced liquid processing system (ALPS).
Since then, Tokyo Electric Power has been considering specific methods for the release.
It explained that ALPS is capable of filtering 62 kinds of radioactive substances including cesium. However, the contaminated water will still contain radioactive substances like tritium even after it is processed by ALPS.
The release is scheduled for the spring of 2023, following subsea site investigations, facility construction and approval from relevant authorities.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
