INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it began releasing its first batch of treated radioactive
stockpile.In a live video from a control room at the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings showed a staff member turn on a seawater
TEPCO later confirmed that the seawater pump was activated at 1:03 p.m
(0403 GMT), three minutes after the final step began.TEPCO said an additional wastewater release pump was activated 20 minutes after the
Plant officials said everything was moving smoothly so far.Japanese fisher groups have opposed the plan for fear it will further damage to
the reputation of their seafood
Groups in China and South Korea have also raised concern, making it a political and diplomatic issue.But the Japanese government and TEPCO
They say the treatment and dilution will make the wastewater safer than international standards and its environmental impact will be
But some scientists say long-term impact of the low-dose radioactivity that remains in the water needs attention.The water release begins
more than 12 years after the March 2011 nuclear meltdowns, caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami
the daunting task of removing the fatally toxic melted debris from the reactors.The pump activated Thursday afternoon sent the first batch
of the diluted, treated water from a mixing pool to a secondary pool 10 minutes later
It then moves through a connected undersea tunnel to go out 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) off the coast
Officials said the water moves at a walking speed and will take about 30 minutes to exit from the tunnel.The operator checked data and the
progress on a set of four monitors that show the water volume, pump conditions and any alerts.TEPCO executive Junichi Matsumoto said
treatment, with the rest stored in around 1,000 tanks, which are already filled to 98% of their 1.37-million-ton capacity
Those tanks, which cover much of the plant complex, must be freed up to build the new facilities needed for the decommissioning process,
officials said.Final preparation for the release began Tuesday, when just one ton of treated water was sent from a tank for dilution with
1,200 tons of seawater, and the mixture was kept in the primary pool for two days for final sampling to ensure safety, Matsumoto said
about one-fifth its pre-disaster level, in part due to a decline in the fishing population
China has tightened radiation testing on Japanese products from Fukushima and nine other prefectures, halting exports at customs for weeks,
Fisheries Agency officials said.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the release is indispensable and and could not be postponed
He noted an experimental removal of a small amount of the melted debris from the No
2 reactor is set for later this year using a remote-controlled giant robotic arm.In 2021, the Japanese government announced plans to release
the treated water to the sea
Then, on Sunday, Kishida made a rushed visit to the plant before meeting with fisheries representatives and pledging to support their
But Economy and Industry Ministry officials say they wanted the release to start as early as possible and have good safety records ahead of
Highly contaminated cooling water applied to the damaged reactors has leaked continuously to building basements and mixed with
groundwater.TEPCO plans to release 31,200 tons of the treated water by the end of March 2024, which would empty only 10 tanks because of the
contaminated production of wastewater at the plant, though the pace will later pick up.Source - The Associated Press--Agencies
