Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) on Thursday (24 August) started discharging treated water stored at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station into the sea, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts at the site confirmed.
The discharge began 13.00 local time (06.00 Central European Time), according to Tepco, the state-owned owner and operator of Fukushima-Daiichi.
The company said it expects to discharge only around 200 or 210 cubic meters of treated wastewater. From Friday, it plans to then continuously release 456 cubic meters of treated wastewater over a 24-hour period and a total of 7,800 cubic meters over a 17-day period.
Tepco said the operation would be suspended immediately and an investigation conducted if any abnormalities are detected in the discharge equipment or the dilution levels of the treated wastewater.