The eighth stage of dumping water into the ocean from the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant has begun in Japan

    Events 8 August 2024 260

    In Japan, the eighth stage of the discharge of water purified from radioactive substances from the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant (NPP) into the ocean has begun. This was reported by the press service of the operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

    The company clarified that by August 25, it is planned to dump about 7.8 thousand tons of water from the NPP. Preliminary analyses have shown that the content of radioactive components in the liquid is normal. In particular, the level of tritium is now at around 1.7 trillion Becquerel.

    The next stages of water discharge are scheduled for August-September and September-October of this year. Next year, the procedure will be carried out in February-March, writes gazeta.ru.

    A radiation accident occurred at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant in March 2011 as a result of a tsunami caused by an earthquake. Emergency generators providing power to cool the reactors were destroyed. This led to three nuclear meltdowns, hydrogen explosions and a massive release of radioactive materials that polluted the surroundings. The volume of release of radioactive elements amounted to up to 20% of the emissions from the Chernobyl accident.

    By now, the territory of the station and the surrounding areas have been practically cleared. However, water is constantly poured into destroyed reactors to cool fragments of nuclear fuel, which, after purification, is gradually dumped into the ocean.