The chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, Toyoshi Fuketa, said at a press conference on Wednesday that a plan to release treated water containing tritium, a radioactive substance, into the sea from the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. is not technically difficult and the plan would be reviewed by the authority within half a year.
On Monday, a government expert panel proposed three possible ways to release treated water: releasing treated water into the ocean after diluting it; releasing evaporated treated water into the atmosphere; and a combination of both ways.
Once the disposal method is determined, TEPCO will have to submit a disposal plan to the authority, which will have to be carefully reviewed before approval.
On the plan to evaporate treated water, "It is unprecedented in Japan and it takes time to review," Fuketa mentioned at the press conference. "The quickest possible way, and there have been examples of it being done in Japan, is to release treated water into the ocean."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
