Japan prepares to drain water from the Fukushima nuclear plant

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On Wednesday, Japan began the final preparations in preparation for the discharge of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant in the Pacific Ocean, starting from Thursday.

This came in a statement issued by the Tokyo Electric Power Holding Company “TEPCO”, which operates the station, according to the Japanese “Kyodo” agency.

According to the agency, “TEPCO measured the level of tritium concentration in the treated water, which is diluted with seawater.”

It explained that this step aims to “make sure that the level of tritium is less than 1 in 40 of what Japanese safety standards allow before it is discharged through an underwater tunnel pipe one kilometer from the affected station.”

On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced his country’s decision to start draining radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant on August 24.

The Japanese declaration was soon met with a strong condemnation from China on Tuesday, accusing it of “arbitrarily disposing of nuclear-contaminated water” in the ocean, which belongs to everyone and not its own.

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin warned at a press conference of the great environmental danger involved in this step.

On the same day, China also summoned Japan’s ambassador to protest against his country’s decision regarding the discharge of treated water from the Fukushima plant into the ocean.

For his part, Park Koo-yeon, deputy head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination in South Korea, said during a daily briefing on the Fukushima issue: “We do not agree or oppose the plan, and we will demand that the discharge be stopped immediately if the concentration of radioactive materials in the water exceeds standard levels, and that Japan informs us of this immediately.” Immediately.”

And last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency gave final approval to the discharge, saying Japan’s plan met international standards and would have “minimal radiological impact on people and the environment.”

And in April 2021, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga gave approval for the release of nuclear water from the Fukushima plant in the Pacific Ocean “within about two years.”

The Fukushima plant had stored more than 1.3 million tons of water through a custom filtration known as the Advanced Liquid Processing System, following the meltdown of 3 reactors following a strong earthquake off the coast of Japan in March 2011.