Japan's Atomic Energy Regulatory Commission on the 18th passed the draft plan for the discharge of nuclear polluted water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant submitted by Tokyo Electric Power Company at the end of last year.
TEPCO submitted the draft last December.
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Commission held 13 review meetings to check the performance of nuclear-contaminated water dilution equipment, measures to deal with earthquakes and tsunamis, and measures to stop discharge in the event of an accident. Reduce the overall risk of nuclear power plants.
The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company intend to start discharging sewage into the sea around spring 2023.
According to the schedule, the related equipment will be completed by April next year.
The start of the project must be approved by the local government.
On March 11, 2011, a strong earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan, triggering a major radiation leakage accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Tokyo Electric Power Company injected a large amount of water to cool the molten fuel rods in the abandoned nuclear reactor. Rainwater and groundwater in and around the nuclear power plant were also contaminated by radioactive substances. Over the past 10 years, millions of tons of nuclear-contaminated water have been accumulated.
In disregard of domestic and foreign doubts and criticisms, the Japanese government decided in April last year to filter and dilute the nuclear-contaminated water from 2023 and discharge it to the offshore through submarine pipelines.
This process is expected to last 20 to 30 years until the nuclear power plant is scrapped.
The Japanese side claims that the nuclear-contaminated water will be purified before it is discharged into the sea to greatly reduce the level of radioactive substances it contains.
However, marine ecology experts and environmentalists pointed out that the potential threat to human society and the health of the marine ecological environment is incalculable.
The plan to discharge sewage into the sea has been widely questioned and opposed by the international community, especially stakeholders, and is also opposed by fishing groups and opposition parties in Japan.