Fukushima nuclear plant is ready to release radioactive waste water into sea

The operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will begin releasing the first batch of treated and diluted radioactive waste water into the Pacific Ocean later Thursday, utility executives said.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings executive Junichi Matsumoto, who is in charge of the project, said its final preparations and testing have cleared safety standards and the release will begin in the early afternoon.
The release will begin more than 12 years after the meltdowns of three reactors at the plant that was heavily damaged by the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan’s northeastern coast on March 11, 2011. Radioactive water — both seeping groundwater and water used to cool the reactors — have accumulated at the site ever since, and TEPCO and the government say the mass quantities of the water have hampered the daunting task of removing the deadly toxic melted debris from the reactors. “The release of the … treated water is a significant milestone as part of the huge task of decommissioning,” Matsumoto said, noting the tremendous risks involving the remaining work that still remain. The final step before the release began Tuesday when just 1 ton of treated water was sent from one of the site’s many storage tanks to be diluted with 1,200 tons of seawater, and the mixture was kept in the primary pool for two days for final sampling, Matsumoto said. The tritium levels from those samples were significantly safer than the legally releasable levels, Matsumoto said.
He added the mild sea conditions off the plant allows seawater sampling by boat hours after the release, and North Korea’s failed rocket launch early Thursday morning did not affect Fukushima. The water treatment process can reduce the amounts of more than 60 other radionuclides to government-set releasable levels, except for tritium, which the government and TEPCO say is safe for humans if consumed in small amounts.