One year has passed since Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) began discharging treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean. Although no abnormal levels of tritium, a radioactive substance, have been detected in nearby seawater or seafood, China remains steadfast in its opposition, maintaining a ban on Japanese seafood imports. The ongoing challenge for TEPCO is to maintain transparency and trust as the complex decommissioning process continues.
When visiting the water discharge shaft at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, a large pipe approximately 2.2 meters in diameter, I observed the flow of a substantial amount of water. On August 9, during the eighth ocean release, the facilities related to the release were opened for media coverage. The plant contains an estimated 880 tons of melted fuel debris that emits strong radiation and must be continuously cooled with water. This debris, along with groundwater and rainwater entering the reactor building, produces contaminated water. Although the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) purifies this water, tritium, a radioactive substance, is difficult to remove, so the water is diluted with seawater to reduce the concentration to less than one-fortieth of the national standard before being released. Since the start of the releases, over 60,000 tons have been discharged into the ocean, but tritium levels in seawater and seafood have remained normal.
TEPCO and the Japanese government have worked to maintain transparency, supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has confirmed that the operations meet international standards. Despite China’s ongoing ban on Japanese seafood, which has affected the reputation of Japanese products, domestic reputation damage has been minimal. The export value of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products dropped for the first time in four years in the first half of this year. TEPCO has estimated compensation for fishermen at about 75.3 billion yen, with approximately 32 billion yen paid as of the end of July.
The decommissioning process, expected to continue until 2051, has faced ongoing challenges. In October of the previous year, two workers were exposed to highly radioactive waste liquid, leading to a temporary halt of ALPS. In April, a cable was damaged during excavation work, causing a six-and-a-half-hour interruption in the release process. The first debris collection since the accident, scheduled for August 22, was delayed due to a procedural error with the equipment.
