IAEA head submits final report on Japan's plan to release wastewater

The head of the UN nuclear agency is in Japan to meet with government leaders and to see final preparations for the release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, on a visit Japan hopes will give credibility to the contentious plan.

International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Mariano Grossi will meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida later to submit IAEA's final report on the water release.

All of IAEA's interim evaluations have been positive, and the final report is expected to say that the water sampling, testing and monitoring plans involved in the release are adequate and fulfil international requirements.

The treated radioactive water, stored in about 1,000 tanks nearing their 1.37 million ton capacity, must be removed to prevent accidental leaks and make room for the plant’s decommissioning.

Japanese regulators finished their final safety inspection of the equipment last Friday. The plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, is expected to receive a permit to discharge the water in about a week.

Japan has sought support from the IAEA to gain credibility for the plan and assurances that its safety measures meet international standards. The IAEA has made several trips to Japan since early 2022 but acknowledges it can't make decisions for the Japanese government, including stopping the wastewater release.

Grossi will also meet with heads of Japanese ministries and nuclear agencies relevant to the water release. To ease concerns overseas, Grossi is expected to visit South Korea, New Zealand and the Cook Islands after his visit to Japan.

"Neither ethical nor lawful"

Japan's water discharge plan, announced in April 2021, faced significant criticism from China, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan, and international organizations, including the UN.

The US supported the proposal, following years of discussions on dealing with over 1 million tons of water stored at the Fukushima nuclear complex since the 2011 disaster.

However, China has urged the IAEA to take a “responsible” stand on Japan's plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.

“The IAEA should come to a responsible conclusion on the ocean discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima that can stand up to the test of history and science. It must not endorse Japan’s wrong decision,” Wang Wenbin, spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Beijing.

“It is neither ethical nor lawful to spill the risk of nuclear pollution to the rest of the world,” he added.

Despite the pressure, Japan last month initiated the injection of seawater into a drainage tunnel at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, marking the initial stage of releasing treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean.

Tokyo said it will go ahead with releasing the treated nuclear waste from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea this summer as planned.