International Atomic Energy Agency experts confirmed on 9 July that the tritium concentration in seawater samples taken from a popular beach destination in the city of Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture is far below Japan’s operational limit.

Seawater from Kitaizumi Beach in Minamisoma was sampled on 4 July by IAEA experts stationed at the agency’s office at the site of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station, which was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in march 2011.

The IAEA confirmed that the tritium concentration in the seawater from Kitaizumi Beach is far below the operational limit of 1,500 becquerels per litre and is in line with international safety standards. Tritium exists naturally and is found in rainwater, seawater, tap water and inside the human body.

Minamisoma is about 30 km north of Fukushima-Daiichi, where station owner and operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has been discharging diluted, treated water since August 2023.