Inspenet, August 28, 2023.
Initial samples of fish collected near the Fukushima nuclear power plant, after the discharge of treated water from the plant began last week into the sea, have revealed no detectable levels of tritium , according to what the Japanese government announced.
These samples were obtained last Friday at a distance of 5 kilometers from the discharge point of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, as reported by the Fisheries Agency on its website.
There will be more fish collected
The Agency plans to continue catching fish daily in that area for analysis and publication of the results for at least the next month.
For its part, the Ministry of the Environment of Japan has taken samples of seawater in a radius of approximately 50 kilometers around the plant and is still awaiting the announcement of the first results.
Last Thursday, the plant’s operating company, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), began the process of dumping water previously treated and diluted with seawater into the Pacific Ocean , a procedure that aims to alleviate the situation at the plant and that It could last for about three decades.
In 2021, the Japanese government opted for the controlled release to sea option as a method to manage the contaminated liquid that has accumulated at nuclear facilities, as space for large storage tanks is running out. This measure is considered essential for the decommissioning process of the plant.
Contaminated water is treated with the ALPS system, which is capable of completely removing 62 types of radioactive materials, except tritium and carbon-14 .
The release procedure will be supervised by the Japanese authorities and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure compliance with globally recognized safety standards.
There have been protests in neighboring nations such as South Korea and China, where authorities have accused the Japanese government of putting the environment at risk and have placed restrictions on imports of seafood from Japan.
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