Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant explained how to treat contaminated water to embassies in each country on September 4 at 17:27

The government held a briefing for embassies in various countries, including Korea, on the 4th, while Korea's strong interest in the treatment of water containing radioactive materials that continues to accumulate at the Fukushima Daiichi NPS. I explained the processing method that I am doing and asked for understanding.

Personnel from the embassies of 22 countries and regions including South Korea attended the briefing session held by the government at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it was held privately after taking the shooting time at the beginning.

At the briefing session, the government indicated that the tank that stores water containing radioactive materials such as tritium generated from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will fill up around the summer of 2022, three years from now.

After that, he explained that the treatment of water was discussed at a national expert meeting, such as a plan to dilute it and release it to the ocean, or a plan to increase tanks.

The details of the individual remarks of attendees, including those in South Korea, have not been clarified, but there were no concerns about the processing method or any protests.

The government has explained the situation of the nuclear power plant to the embassies of each country more than 100 times after the Great East Japan Earthquake, but it is the first time that the contents have been made public.

The government explained, “There is a growing momentum to increase transparency, so we decided to publicize the briefing session for the embassy.”

South Korea expressed interest in treating water containing tritium, etc., and asked Japan to explain it. The Japanese government responded in writing on the 27th of last month, saying, “No concrete conclusions are being considered.” However, there is no response from the Korean side so far.

Increasing "tritium water"

In Units 1 to 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that caused the meltdown, water continued to be poured to cool the nuclear fuel remaining inside, and there was also inflow of groundwater from the mountain side of the building. Contaminated water is generated.

We are collecting and removing radioactive materials, but some radioactive materials such as tritium will remain, so we have built nearly 1000 tanks on the premises so far, about 1.15 million tons as of 22nd last month I keep it.

Water containing tritium that increases daily.

TEPCO last month showed that the tank would be full in three years if the current plan remains unchanged.

In the future, it will be necessary to create another facility for decommissioning in the nuclear power plant, making it difficult to secure a site to add a tank for storing water containing tritium.

How to dispose?

Based on this situation, the countries that are to decide on the final disposal policy have so far proposed to reduce the concentration of radioactive materials to the sea, to heat and evaporate, to embed deep underground, etc. Has been shown.

However, all of these proposals were released into the environment such as the sea and the atmosphere, and many people were worried about the damage of reputation at public hearings.

For this reason, the national government held an expert meeting last month and decided to consider a method of adding more tanks and keeping them for a long period of time as a new option.

What is "tritium"

Tritium-containing water that is difficult to handle.

Tritium is a radioactive substance that exists in nature, such as water vapor and rainwater in the atmosphere, and is characterized by difficulty in separating it from water.

Regarding the effects on health, the country says that tritium is a substance that emits weak radiation, and the amount of internal exposure that occurs when taken into the body is sufficiently lower than radioactive cesium, etc., so far no health effects have been confirmed It is said.

Tritium is also generated from the operating nuclear power plant.

For this reason, the national government has established standards, and in Japan it is released to the sea after confirming that it is below the standard value of 60,000 becquerel per liter.

In other countries, the standards are set in each country and released into the sea.

Invisible solution

Due to the nature of tritium, the NRA has expressed the view that diluting below the standard and releasing it into the sea is a scientifically reasonable disposal method.

However, on the other hand, eight and a half years have passed since the accident, and while there are signs of recovery in the industry in Fukushima Prefecture, such as fishing, agriculture, and tourism, there is a strong voice of concern about the damage of reputation. There is no clue of resolution at this time.