A team of nuclear experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency urged Japan on Tuesday to make a rapid decision on what to do with treated water containing low toxicity radioactive tritium that is accumulating at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. "We advised the Japanese government that now decision
A team of nuclear experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency urged Japan on Tuesday to make a rapid decision on what to do with treated water containing low toxicity radioactive tritium that is accumulating at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
“We advised the Japanese government that now decision should be taken very rapidly for the disposition path for water which is stored in these tanks,” said Christophe Xerri, leader of the 13-member team, following a nine-day review of the progress to scrap the Fukushima Daiichi plant, hit by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
“There is space limitation so some solution has to be decided and implemented,” he said, adding the volume of treated water containing tritium in tanks is expected to reach the planned capacity within the “coming three to four years.”
As of last Thursday, around 970,000 tons of tritium-containing water was stored on the premises of the plant, according to Tokyo Electric Power Holdings Inc.
The Japanese government has studied options for the tritium-containing water, including releasing it into the sea as it is regarded as not harmful to humans.
