The government has said it will do the utmost to support local fisheries, and the report said TEPCO would compensate for damages if they occur despite those efforts. China and South Korea have raised serious concerns about the discharge of the water and its potential impact. Japan will abide by international rules for a release, obtain support from the International Atomic Energy Agency and others, and ensure disclosure of data and transparency to gain an understanding of the international community, the report said. According to a preliminary estimate, gradual releases of water will take about 30 years but will be completed before the plant is fully decommissioned. The report it prepared last year mentioned evaporation as a less desirable option.Ībout 70% of the water in the tanks exceeds allowable discharge limits for contamination but will be filtered again and diluted with seawater before it is released, the report says.
Releasing the water to the ocean was described as the most realistic method by a government panel that for nearly seven years had discussed how to dispose of the water without further harming Fukushima's image, fisheries and other businesses.
The tanks also could be damaged and leak in case of another powerful earthquake or tsunami, the report said. Those tanks that occupy a large space at the plant complex interfere with the safe and steady progress of the decommissioning, Economy and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said. Water is also pumped out and treated, part of which is recycled as cooling water, and the remainder stored in 1,020 tanks now holding 1.25 million tons of radioactive water. To make up for the loss, more water has been pumped into the reactors to continue to cool the melted fuel. In the decade since the tsunami disaster, water meant to cool the nuclear material has constantly escaped from the damaged primary containment vessels into the basements of the reactor buildings. Also, the area now filled with storage tanks will have to be freed up for building new facilities that will be needed for removing melted fuel debris from inside the reactors, a process expected to start in coming years.
TEPCO says its water storage capacity of 1.37 million tons will be full around the fall of 2022.