Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has begun dumping treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. The water, which has been filtered and diluted, will be discharged through an underwater tunnel a kilometer from the coast, Turanews.kz reports.
TEPCO plans to discharge 460 tons of water per day. Each ton of water will be diluted with 1,200 tons of seawater. In the first 17 days, less than 8 tons of water will be discharged.
The discharge of water began as planned, after the authorities gave the go-ahead earlier this week. The decision to dump the water has been met with opposition from China and Russia, who have raised concerns about the safety of the process.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was damaged in a tsunami in 2011. The water that is being discharged was used to cool the reactors after the accident. The water has been stored in tanks, but the tanks are almost full.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has approved the decision to dump the treated water. The IAEA says that the water has been treated to remove radioactive isotopes and that the dilution process will further reduce the radioactivity.
However, China and Russia have expressed concerns about the safety of the process. China has banned the import of products from ten prefectures in Japan, including Fukushima. Russia has sent a list of technical problems to Tokyo in connection with its plans.
TEPCO says that it will continue to monitor the water quality and will adjust the discharge rate as needed. The company says that it expects to complete the discharge of the water in about 30 years.
