UN watchdog approves plan for Fukushima water release

Jul 04 (BBC) - A UN watchdog has said that Japan's plan to release waste water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea complies with international standards.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says the release will have a "negligible" impact on the environment.

The Fukushima facility is running out of storage space for the water, which was used to cool nuclear reactors.

Japan's plan has been opposed by China and South Korea.

Tokyo has not announced a schedule for the release and the plan still needs approval from a regulator.

Most radioactive elements have been filtered from the water, except for radioactive forms of hydrogen and carbon - called tritium and carbon 14, respectively. The two isotopes are difficult to separate from water.

Tokyo has said the water that will be released into the Pacific Ocean, which has been mixed with seawater, have tritium and carbon 14 levels that meet safety standards. ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

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