(LEAD) IAEA says Japan′s Fukushima water discharge plan meets international safety standards

▲ Vendors at Noryangjin Seafood Market in Seoul watch news on Japan's plan to release treated water stored at the Fukushima nuclear power station into the sea on July 4, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks about the result of the IAEA's review of Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water stored at the Fukushima nuclear power station into the sea during a press conference in Tokyo on July 4, 2023. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) IAEA-Fukushima water

(LEAD) IAEA says Japan's Fukushima water discharge plan meets international safety standards

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details, comments from fourth para; ADDS photo)

GENEVA, July 4 (Yonhap) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Tuesday Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water stored at the Fukushima nuclear power station into the sea is consistent with its safety standards.

After a two-year review, the U.N. nuclear watchdog also said that the discharges of the water treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), the plant's custom purification system, would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.

"Based on its comprehensive assessment, the IAEA has concluded that the approach and activities to the discharge of ALPS treated water taken by Japan are consistent with relevant international safety standards," IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in the report.

"Furthermore, the IAEA notes the controlled, gradual discharges of the treated water to the sea, as currently planned and assessed by TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power), would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment," he added.

Grossi formally presented the report to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo earlier in the day.

The IAEA chief said the report by the task force team of IAEA and independent experts from 11 different countries "represent a significant milestone in the IAEA's review" but that "our task is only just beginning."

"The IAEA will continue to provide transparency to the international community making it possible for all stakeholders to rely on verified fact and science to inform their understanding of this matter throughout the process," he said.

The IAEA said its safety review will continue to ensure Japan and TEPCO apply relevant international safety standards throughout the decadeslong discharge process.

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