Press Releases
Briefing Session to the Government of the Republic of Korea on the Current Status of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) Treated Water at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
On July 25, a briefing session to the Government of Republic of Korea (ROK) was organized in Tokyo regarding the handling of ALPS treated water at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS).
Mr. KAIFU Atsushi, Director General for Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Mr. YUMOTO Keiichi, Director General for Nuclear Accident Disaster Response of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and officials Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) and TEPCO participated from the Japanese side; and Mr. Yun Hyunsoo, Director General for Climate Change, Energy, Environmental and Scientific Affairs Bureau of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and officials from Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, among others, participated from Korean side.
- During the briefing, the Japanese side explained that it will continue its efforts to ensure the safety of the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea based on the position as explained at the recent Japan-ROK Summit Meeting among others. In particular, the Japanese side provided supplementary explanations and reiterated that Japan will, after the discharge has commenced, publish monitoring information in a transparent and prompt manner while undergoing the review by the IAEA under the authority of the IAEA statute, and should a problem be detected during this monitoring process such as unusual value of concentration of the radioactive materials, Japan will take appropriate measures as planned, including immediate suspension of the discharge. The ROK side, based on its position of respecting the contents of the IAEA Comprehensive Report, explained the efforts of the ROK government, including an explanation of the contents of the assessment announced by the ROK government on July 7.
- The Japanese side also stated that it would continue to communicate with the ROK based on scientific evidence and the both sides concurred on the prompt organization of another briefing session.
- All related Ministries and Agencies of the Government of Japan will continue to work together to explain thoroughly the safety of ALPS treated water and the situation of the FDNPS to the international community in a transparent manner.
[Reference] ALPS treated water is water which is processed by devices such as ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) to ensure that the radioactive materials other than tritium surely meet the regulatory standards for safety. In addition, it is planned that ALPS treated water will then be sufficiently diluted before the discharges so that the concentrations of the radioactive materials including tritium will be far below the regulatory standards for safety.