Dec 24 (NHK) - A Japanese government panel says discussions on how to dispose of radioactive wastewater at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant should center on two options --- releasing it into the ocean, or into the air.
The expert panel created by the industry ministry presented its draft proposal on Monday.
Water used to cool the molten nuclear fuel from the March 2011 accident is treated to remove most of the radioactive substances, but tritium and some other substances cannot be removed.
Nearly 1.2 million tons of wastewater are stored in tanks in the plant compound, and the amount has been increasing by 170 tons per day.
One option is to mix it with seawater to reduce radiation levels and release it into the sea.
The other is to heat the wastewater to around 1,000 degrees Celsius and release the resulting vapor from ventilators.
Panel members studied three other options, but ruled them out due to a lack of feasibility.
The panel says reputational damage would occur whichever method is adopted and that needs to be addressed.
Some members said the panel should have clearly pointed out that releasing the wastewater into the sea would pose a significant social impact. Others said the draft proposal should be more concrete on how to prevent reputational damage.
The ministry will take the panel's proposal into account when drawing up its report on the matter.
The government will make a final decision on the disposal method. But releasing the wastewater into the environment will clearly draw opposition, mainly from fisheries workers and local residents.
Source: ANNnewsCH
