A Total Of 4 Times PLTN Japan Has Released Radioactive Processed Water Into The Sea

The radioactive water tank that has been processed at PLTN Fukushima. (Wikimedia Commons/)

JAKARTA - Japanese Nuclear Power Plant Operator (PLTN) Fukushima Daiichi started releasing radioactive processed water into the sea today. In total, radioactive water has been released four times. "As in the previous cycle, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.(TEPCO) will dump 7,800 tons of processed water for about 17 days after ensuring the level of radioactivity of the latest pool of water meets the utility standards and set by the government," Kyodo said via Antara, Wednesday, February 28. In the radioactive disposal which was the last period, the operator did not temporarily store the water that had been treated in a large tank to check tritium levels before being disposed of. However, it will check its levels through water flowing through the pipe, the same as what was done in the previous disposal. The plant company and the Japanese government argue that the release of water is very important to disable nuclear power plants that suffered core damage following a major earthquake and tsunami in 2011. With contaminated water continuing to accumulate in the cooling process of melted fuel, TEPCO decided to release 31,200 tons of treated water in four rounds this fiscal year. The first round has started on August 24, 2023 and the release of water is expected to last for about 30 years. Before being released, the radioactive processed water was stored in a tank installed on site. The processed water has been diluted with seawater up to 1 per 40 concentrations permitted according to Japanese safety standards before being channeled through an underwater tunnel 1 kilometer from the power plant. The water has also gone through a liquid processing system that eliminates most of the radionuclides except for tritium, but now the volume is close to the capacity.

Nuclear power plants around the world routinely release processed water into the environment as part of normal operations. The water contains tritium with low concentrations and is considered less dangerous than other radioactive materials and other radionuclides to the environment as part of normal operations.