Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant begins release of second batch of treated radioactive wastewater

The wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan on Thursday (Oct 5) announced that it has started releasing a second batch of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea after the ending of the first round of discharges smoothly.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings stated that a pump was activated by the workers to dilute the treated water with huge amounts of seawater, which sends the mixture slowly into the ocean via an underground tunnel.

The release of the first batch of wastewater from the plant started on August 24 and ended on September 11. Amid the first release which continued for 17 days, TEPCO stated that 7,800 tonnes of treated water was discharged from 10 tanks.

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In around 1,000 tanks present at the plant, around 1.34 million tonnes of radioactive wastewater gets stored. The water has been accumulating at the plant since the time it was crippled by the tsunami and a massive earthquake in 2011.

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In the second round of discharge, TEPCO has been planning to release, into the Pacific Ocean, another batch of 7,800 metric tonnes of treated wastewater over a period of 17 days.

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TEPCO and the government stated that the wastewater has been treated to reduce radioactive materials to safe levels, and then has been diluted with seawater so that it can be made much safer compared to the international standards.

They stated that they cannot avoid discharging the water into the sea because the tanks will be filled to their capacity by next year and space at the plant will be required for its decommissioning, which is likely to take decades.

The wastewater discharges have been opposed strongly by fishing groups and neighbouring countries, including South Korea, where protest rallies were staged by hundreds of people. All imports of Japanese seafood were banned by China, which badly hurt Japanese seafood exporters.

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The government of Japan has established a relief fund to find new markets and decrease the impact of China's ban.

Nuclear authorities, which included the United Nations nuclear watchdog, said that the release of water will have negligible impact on humans and the environment. However, it has angered a few neighbours, especially China.

Junichi Matsumoto, who is heading the water release at TEPCO, on Wednesday during a press conference said that more than 6,000 calls were made to TEPCO from abroad between August 24 to 27.

(With inputs from agencies)

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