In total, more than 1.3 million m3 of tritiated water from Fukushima will be released into the Pacific Ocean, the equivalent of 540 Olympic swimming pools. To do this, the second phase of the discharge into the sea of treated water from the damaged Japanese power plant began Thursday morning, announced its operator. The release began on Thursday at 10:18 a.m. Japanese time, said a spokesperson for the operator Tepco.
On August 24, Japan began evacuating water into the Pacific Ocean which was used to cool the cores of the three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant (northeast of Japan) which had melted after the tsunami. from 2011.
Diplomatic crisis
The release into the sea was validated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). But the launch of the process caused a diplomatic crisis between Japan and China, which has suspended all imports of Japanese seafood products since the end of August. Russia would consider doing the same.
“As was the case with the first release, we will continue to monitor tritium levels. We will continue to inform the public in a clear and understandable manner, based on scientific evidence,” a Tepco official told the press last week. A total of approximately 7,800 m3 of tritiated water was released during the first phase of 17 days. Tepco has planned three other similar operations until the end of March 2024.