Russia Might Soon Join Analysis of Discharged Water in Japan's Fukushima - Envoy
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The process of engaging Russian laboratories into analyzing samples of water discharged from the damaged Japanese Fukushima nuclear power plant is underway in Russia while research in domestic labs might begin in 2024-2025, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told Sputnik.
“Work is underway to engage our laboratories, perhaps several of them... It is necessary for the laboratories to have the appropriate competencies, and for these competencies to be recognized in this case by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This is a purely technical aspect, but it requires a certain amount of time. As far as I remember, our labs may well be connected at the end of this year - beginning of the next year," Ulyanov said on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week international forum when asked about the analysis of water discharged from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Laboratories located in different Russian regions, including the Far East, are applying to join this process, the diplomat added.
Over the 2023 financial year, the nuclear power plant's operator Tepco released a total of 31,200 cubic meters of treated water. In the financial year 2024, it plans to release 54,600 cubic meters of water.
Japan started releasing part of the estimated 1.34 million tonnes of Fukushima nuclear power plant treated water into the ocean in August 2023 despite an outcry from neighboring countries and local fishermen. Treated water is cleared of radioactive substances aside from tritium, so the water is diluted to a lower concentration before being discharged. The entire water release process is expected to take at least 30 years.
The Russian Energy Week is taking place in Moscow from September 26-28.
