Based on the conclusion of the IAEA Comprehensive Report released in July that the discharge of ALPS-treated water into the sea is consistent with international safety standards and that radiation impacts on humans and the environment are negligible, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) conducted the first batch of discharge from August 24 to September 11, 2023.
The concentration of nuclides, including tritium in the seawater, measured before, during, and after the discharge was far below the relevant standards, which indicates that the discharge was safe as planned.
The discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea was conducted after dilution with seawater. As a result of this dilution process, each tritium concentration detected during the first batch of discharge was less than 220 Bq/L., far below the safety standard (1,500 Bq/L) set by the Government of Japan, let alone, much lower than the WHO Standards for Drinking Water (10,000 Bq/L).
Furthermore, each tritium concentration detected during and after the discharge off the coast of Fukushima prefecture had always been less than 10 Bq/L, far below the safety standard (700 Bq/L) set by the Government of Japan.
Additionally, regarding radionuclides other than tritium, "the sum of the ratios of the concentration of each radionuclide to the regulatory concentration" was 0.28, well below the regulatory standard of 1, before the discharge into the sea water (*1).
All these data clearly prove that, from a scientific point of view, the first batch of discharge did not cause any harm to human and environment.
TEPCO (and domestic third-party organizations) announced that the second batch of discharge will be initiated on October 5 and take 17 days to complete.
TEPCO has confirmed that the ALPS treated water scheduled to be discharged in the second batch met the regulatory standards for discharge as a result of dilution and pre-discharge analysis, which was released on September 21.
The IAEA also conducted an independent analysis of the radioactive concentration and announced on September 22 that it confirmed that there was no difference between the results of TEPCO and the IAEA analyses for the tritium level in the ALPS treated water for the second batch and that it did not detect any other radio nuclides in significant quantities.
The IAEA will continue to engage and confirm that the discharge of ALPS-treated water into the sea is consistent with safety standards through the presence of IAEA staff at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the publication of real-time monitoring data from the plant, and the confirmation and evaluation of additional reviews and monitoring conducted by Japan.
Regarding the safety of discharging ALPS treated water into the sea; the Government of Japan has courteously explained Japan's efforts at international conferences and bilateral meetings, has actively explained and disseminated information worldwide through the government website and SNS. The IAEA also positively noted these efforts.
Furthermore, Japan has voluntarily conducted sampling surveys on marine products and has conducted a component analysis of fish caught off the coast of Fukushima prefecture(regardless of whether it is for export or domestic consumption) after the discharge of ALPS-treated water into the sea, and no tritium exceeding the detection limit has been detected.
It is extremely regrettable that the Chinese government is expanding and strengthening import restrictions on Japanese marine products, rather than listening to the scientific explanation by the Japanese side.
Japan will continue to carefully provide information based on scientific evidence and take necessary measures with a high level of transparency, including countermeasures against attempts to spread disinformation, in order to ensure correct understanding both domestically and internationally.
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