Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks about the results of the IAEA’s review of Japan’s plan to drain water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, during a press conference in Tokyo on July 4. , 2023. (Resale and archiving prohibited)
WASHINGTON/SEOL, July 5 (Yonhap) — The US State Department on Tuesday expressed support for Japan’s plan to dump treated cooling water from damaged reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea after treatment. Science should define it.
“While Japan is studying the discharge of some treated water from its water storage tanks in the Pacific Ocean, opinions on this discharge of treated water should be determined by science,” said the administration’s spokesman, who preferred not to be named.
This was talking about final report submitted by a working group from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which after two years of work concluded that the water, once treated, has a level of radioactivity in line with international standards and therefore will not have a significant impact on the environment and population.
But this was not enough to allay fears of dire long-term consequences even after the contaminated water has been treated, while others doubt that IAEA experts could have acted independently.
The spokesperson defended “their continued efforts to conduct a fair and realistic review and reporting on Japan’s plans” and considered that “Japan has been open and transparent in its handling of the repercussions of the accident. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear project in 2011.” Finally, he noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency’s safety standards were the subject of an international consensus on what constituted a high level of safety.
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