![]() At many nuclear facilities, tritium is routinely discharged into rivers and the sea or into the atmosphere through a ventilation process, in compliance with the laws and regulations of each country and region. In fact, this figure is equivalent or lower than the level of many nuclear facilities in operation today in Japan and elsewhere. The total annual volume of tritium to be discharged will also fall below the operational target of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station before the accident (at 22 trillion becquerels per year). The concentration represents 1/40 of that permitted under Japanese safety standards, which are based on international safety standards, and around 1/7 of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Guidelines for drinking water. Tritium exists in nature and can be found in rain, sea and tap water as well as inside of our bodies, but cannot accumulate in the human body and can be avoided by a piece of paper.īy diluting the ALPS treated water by more than a hundred times of its concentration with seawater, the amount of tritium in the discharge will be less than 1,500 becquerels (a unit of radioactivity) per litre. ![]() But tritium, an isotope which emits weak radiation and has the same properties as hydrogen, is very difficult to remove from the water. This contaminated water is treated by multi-nuclide removal equipment known as ALPS (in use since 2013) to remove radioactive materials.Ĭoncerns about the discharge focus on the risks of radioactive materials which remain in the treated water, a vast majority of which has been removed by ALPS. The amount of contaminated water generated per day has fallen from an average 540 tonnes in May 2014 to 140 tonnes in 2020. Although contaminated water continues to be generated to this day, its generation has been effectively reduced by measures such as a frozen soil-wall in the ground to block groundwater from seeping into the contaminated areas and a subdrain system around the building to pump up groundwater. Water subsequently used to cool the debris, along with rain and groundwater flowing into the site, has become contaminated with radioactive nuclides. And economic damage amounted to some $235 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in world history.Īfter a massive tsunami knocked out the power supply equipment of the cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, three of its reactors went into meltdown, creating melted fuel debris which remains in the reactor. ![]() Approximately 470,000 people were evacuated from their homes. A total of 19,729 people lost their lives due to the earthquake and tsunami. It was the strongest recorded earthquake in Japan and fourth in the world. On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake resulted in the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in the northeast of the country. This view is held not just by the Japanese authorities and the plant operator, but by the United Nations’ nuclear agency and numerous independent international scientists. But the scientific evidence demonstrates that discharging the treated water is not only safe, but also a necessary and feasible solution. ![]() The Japanese government’s policy has raised concerns about its environmental impact from environmental groups and neighbouring countries as well as further reputational damage to the disaster-affected areas. The water to be discharged has been treated through a filtration system called ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) to remove radioactive materials, acquired through contact with the damaged reactors and fuel debris at the power station, to meet domestic regulatory standards based on international standards for discharge. In April of last year, the Japanese government announced the basic policy to discharge treated water at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station into the sea.
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