Press Releases

Visit of IAEA officials and international experts on a mission to review the discharge of ALPS treated water from TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the Sea

October 27, 2023
Japanese
  1. From 24 to 27 October, the IAEA officials and international experts visited Japan on their first review mission after the start of the discharge of the ALPS treated water from TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) into the sea.
  2. This IAEA review is based on the Terms of Reference (TOR) on a comprehensive framework for reviewing safety related aspects of handling ALPS treated water at FDNPS signed in July 2021 with the IAEA.
  3. During the mission, the IAEA review mission received updates and explanations from the Government of Japan and TEPCO, concerning the latest situation after the ALPS treated water has been discharged into the sea. Also, the review mission had meetings with the Government of Japan and TEPCO to discuss the issues, considering the individual reviews conducted to date, and confirmed that the discharge has been carried out safely as planned.
  4. On October 25, the IAEA review mission visited the FDNPS site to review the facilities of the discharge of ALPS treated water.
  5. Following this mission, the report is expected to be issued by the IAEA in due course.
  6. The independent review by the IAEA, an international organization with authority in the field of nuclear energy, is extremely important in ensuring reliability and transparency regarding the safety and handling of ALPS treated water and fostering better understanding among the international community. The Government of Japan will continue to work firmly to gain further understanding of ALPS treated water from the international community in close cooperation with the IAEA, which firmly maintains neutrality.

[Reference 1] ALPS treated water
ALPS treated water is water which is processed by devices such as ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) to ensure that the concentration of the radioactive materials other than tritium surely meet the regulatory standards for safety. In addition, ALPS treated water is sufficiently diluted before the discharges into the sea so that radioactive materials including tritium is far below the regulatory standards for safety.

[Reference 2]
The IAEA Task Force includes 11 international experts, serving in a personal capacity, from Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Republic of Korea, the Marshall Islands, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.

[Reference 3]

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