It’s good news. After carrying out radioactivity analyzes of the water from the damaged Fukushima power plant, the day after the start of its discharge into the sea, the Japanese nuclear power plant operator Tepco delivered reassuring results, but which should hardly be enough to appease Beijing.
Indeed, the level of radioactivity of the samples taken is, according to Tepco, in line with forecasts and below the ceiling set by Japan at 1,500 becquerels/litre for this specific operation.
The Japanese standard for this type of operation, modeled on the international standard, is usually 60,000 Bq/L. In addition, for drinking water, the World Health Organization (WHO) sets a ceiling of 10,000 Bq / L, seven times higher than the limit that Tokyo has set for water from Fukushima.
“We hope to dispel the various concerns”
“We will continue to conduct analyzes daily over the next month” and then on a regular basis according to the planned plan, said a Tepco spokesperson. With these communication efforts “we hope to dispel the various concerns”, he further underlined.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which controls the process, had already noted on Thursday that the tritium concentration in the water samples from the plant that it had taken this week before the start of the discharge into the sea , was “well below the operational limit” of 1,500 Bq/L.
The Japanese Ministry of the Environment is also carrying out its own tests, the first results of which will be published on Sunday. The Japanese Fisheries Agency, for its part, takes fish to check that they are not affected.
“By publishing this data every day and in complete transparency, we will prove that our actions are based on scientific evidence”, hammered Friday Yasutoshi Nishimura, the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti) , also in charge of nuclear-related files.