The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday began its second review of operations to discharge into the sea treated water containing tritium from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
An IAEA mission met with representatives of the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings in Tokyo on the day.
In the review, set to run through Friday, the mission is slated to conduct an on-site survey of the Tepco plant in Fukushima Prefecture and exchange views with Tepco and the country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority. The water release began last August.
At the Tuesday meeting, Gustavo Caruso, director of the IAEA’s Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, said that the international nuclear watchdog’s independent, objective and scientific approach in the review will help build trust between Japan and other countries.
Caruso voiced hopes that expert reviews of the water discharge operations will be conducted for additional years.
The IAEA team, which includes experts from countries such as China and South Korea, is set to draw up a report on the safety of the release of the water that contains tritium, a radioactive substance, into the sea.
An IAEA report compiled after the first review, last October, confirmed that the discharge was consistent with international safety standards.
The Fukushima No. 1 plant was heavily damaged in the March 2011 powerful earthquake and tsunami, with meltdowns affecting multiple reactors.