According to NHK’s report, TEPCO announced that research was carried out after higher-than-normal levels of radioactive tritium were detected in the rainwater accumulated in the canal around the storage tank of the nuclear power plant in question.
It was stated that the cutting tool used while removing the packaging around the drain hose caused the formation of cracks that caused the leakage.
As the hose is also used to transfer treated water from another tank, tritium was detected up to 67 thousand becquerels per liter in the water examination carried out in the two channels.
This figure exceeds 60,000 bekerels, the Japanese government’s standard for tritium release into the environment.
The Japanese government plans to dilute the treated water before releasing it into the sea, reducing the tritium level to about one-seventh, according to the World Health Organization’s drinking water quality guidelines.
It is stated that the leakage will not affect the plan to discharge purified and diluted water from the plant into the ocean.
Fisheries Federation will test tritium level every day for 1 month
According to the news of The Japan Times, the Japan Fisheries Federation will conduct tests that allow rapid control of tritium every day for about 1 month after the plant starts releasing treated water into the ocean.
The results will be published on the agency’s website and this information will also be available in English.
The federation hopes that the rapid analysis system will help curb the spread of misinformation about the release of purified water and alleviate concerns between fishing operators and consumers.
Wastewater discharge plan to the sea
The International Atomic Energy Agency, in its report published on July 4, stated that Japan’s plan to discharge the waste water accumulated at the Fukushima In-Dai Nuclear Power Plant into the sea complies with safety standards.
Although the official timetable was not announced, it was announced that the evacuation period to the ocean would start in the summer of this year.
Neighboring countries China, South Korea and Taiwan reacted to the Tokyo government’s evacuation decision.
In March 2011, the nuclear meltdowns caused by the tsunami with a magnitude 9 earthquake in the reactor at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant were mixed into the air and the area around the power plant was declared an “evacuation zone”.