IAEA team samples seawater near Fukushima plant to ensure safe release of wastewater

TOKYO (AP) — A team of scientists from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Fukushima on Monday as part of an annual monitoring and sampling mission to ensure safety of the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea, officials said.

Japan began discharging the wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in August 2023. The plant was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, triggering meltdowns in its three reactors and large amounts of radioactive water to accumulate.

China protested and blocked imports of Japanese seafood, which has hit Japanese seafood exporters

The IAEA team will take samples from the plant, coastal waters and a fish market in nearby Iwaki city. It will also visit to a national laboratory near Tokyo and meet with Japanese officials.

In late September, Japan and China announced a deal that would ease China’s seafood ban and include Beijing in the monitoring of the wastewater discharges under the framework of the IAEA.

The latest IAEA mission, which included experts from China, is not related to the China-Japan deal, officials said.

Japan says the discharge meets international safety standards and is being monitored by the IAEA. Japan has criticized China over its seafood ban as unscientific and demanded an immediate end to the measure.