A team of specialists from South Korea has arrived in Japan to conduct an inspection of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station and meet officials to discuss conflicts over a plan to release treated but still slightly radioactive water into the sea.
The 21-member South Korean delegation is particularly interested in examining the Fukushima-Daiichi’s plant’s custom-built water purification system, known as Alps. Japanese officials have endorsed the effectiveness of the Alps system, which removes most of the radioactivity from the water. Tritium, which cannot be removed by Alps, and some very low levels of other radionuclides, remain in the water after processing.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry has said that Alps-treated water will be sufficiently diluted before the discharges so that the concentrations of radioactive materials will be far below the regulatory standards for safety.
South Korea has yet to formally agree to the plan to release the contaminated water into the ocean.