Completion of First Phase of Wastewater Discharge in Fukushima for FY 2024
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) has recently announced the discharge of 7,800 tons of wastewater from the Fukushima power plant into the ocean through an undersea tunnel located 1 kilometer off the coast. This move marks the beginning of the first evacuation phase for the 2024 fiscal year, with further evacuations potentially starting at the end of May or early June.
Despite concerns, no abnormal levels of tritium have been detected in coastal area examinations during the evacuation process. TEPCO plans to discharge a total of 54,600 tons of wastewater in seven phases throughout the 2024 fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2025.
In the previous fiscal year, TEPCO discharged 31,200 tons of wastewater in four phases, starting in August 2023. Radioactive wastewater from the power plant is channeled offshore through a specially designed undersea tunnel, where the water is processed using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to decompose radioactive substances, except for tritium.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has deemed Japan’s wastewater discharge plan to be in line with safety standards in its final report from July 2023. The Fukushima power plant disaster, triggered by a 9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 2011, led to nuclear meltdowns and the declaration of an evacuation zone around the plant.
As TEPCO continues to manage and discharge wastewater from the Fukushima power plant, the safety and environmental impacts of these actions remain under close scrutiny.
