Japan Begins 21st Round of Treated Fukushima Nuclear Water Discharge

Tokyo (ANTARA) - Japan on Monday began a new round of discharging treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. The effort marks the 21st such release since operations began in 2023. The discharge commenced at 11:41 local time. According to plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), the new round of treated water release, scheduled to continue until 24 July, will discharge approximately 7,800 tonnes of water containing around 1.3 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium into the sea. After being struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake and ensuing tsunami on 11 March 2011, the Fukushima plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level 7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. Despite concerns and opposition from the international community, Japan unilaterally began discharging what is suspected to be nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi plant into the sea in August 2023. To date, TEPCO has completed 20 rounds of discharge, releasing approximately 157,000 tonnes of treated water into the ocean.