Japan launches another phase of discharging nuclear-contaminated wastewater from Fukushima

Japan on Thursday commenced the ninth round of releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.

The same as the previous rounds, about 7,800 tons of wastewater will be discharged from about a kilometer off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture via an underwater tunnel until Oct. 14, News.Az reports, citing foreign media .

Hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.

The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down nuclear fuel in reactor buildings. The contaminated water is now being stored in tanks at the nuclear plant.

Despite opposition from local fishermen, residents and the international community, ocean discharge of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water began in August 2023.

In fiscal 2024, TEPCO plans to discharge a total of 54,600 tons of contaminated water in seven rounds, which contains approximately 14 trillion becquerels of tritium.

While competent departments of China and Japan have recently reached an agreement on the discharge, China has reaffirmed that it is firmly opposed to Japan's unilateral move to start the discharge and this position remains unchanged.

News.Az