13 Nov (NucNet): An International Atomic Energy Agency team has called on Japan’s government to urgently decide on how to dispose of treated water containing tritium and other residual radionuclides from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station.
The team, which today completed the fourth review mission of Japan's efforts towards the decommissioning of the station, said the treated water is accumulating in tanks on site and is expected to reach the currently planned tank capacity within three to four years.
The water may require further treatment to reduce radionuclides to authorised levels before any of the five disposal methods being considered by the government can be implemented. The methods are ground injection, controlled discharge into the sea, discharge as steam, discharge as hydrogen, and solidification for underground burial.
In its preliminary summary report delivered to Japanese authorities today, the team said Japan had made significant progress since the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident, advancing from an emergency situation towards a stable situation now.
“This achievement will now allow Japan to focus more resources on detailed planning and implementation of decommissioning activities of the whole site, with considerations extended up to completion,” the report said.
The report said station owner Tokyo Electric Power Company and the Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation should consider more detailed, long-term planning for managing waste arising from the decommissioning project.
It also said that because of the significant challenges and length of the project, “sustained stakeholder interaction, appropriate knowledge management systems and broad international cooperation should be ensured”.
The mission, which followed two previous reviews in 2013 and one in 2015, examined a variety of issues at Fukushima-Daiichi. The team reviewed progress since the 2015 mission, the current situation on site and future plans in areas such as water management, removal of spent fuel assemblies and retrieval of fuel debris, management of radioactive waste, and institutional and organisational matters.
The team plans to deliver its final report to the government by the end of January 2019.
