IAEA team samples seawater near Fukushima plant to ensure safe release of wastewater

A workforce of scientists from the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company arrived in Fukushima on Monday as a part of an annual monitoring and sampling mission to make sure security of the discharge of handled radioactive wastewater into the ocean, officers stated.

Japan started discharging the wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in August 2023. The plant was broken within the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, triggering meltdowns in its three reactors and enormous quantities of radioactive water to build up.

China protested and blocked imports of Japanese seafood, which has hit Japanese seafood exporters.

The IAEA workforce will take samples from the plant, coastal waters and a fish market in close by Iwaki metropolis. It should additionally go to to a nationwide laboratory close to Tokyo and meet with Japanese officers.

In late September, Japan and China introduced a deal that may ease China’s seafood ban and embody Beijing within the monitoring of the wastewater discharges beneath the framework of the IAEA.

The most recent IAEA mission, which included consultants from China, isn’t associated to the China-Japan deal, officers stated.

Japan says the discharge meets worldwide security requirements and is being monitored by the IAEA. Japan has criticized China over its seafood ban as unscientific and demanded a direct finish to the measure.

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