Government officials announced today that the release of treated radioactive water from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean was temporarily suspended for the second time in three days. The halt occurred on June 13th, approximately two weeks after the initial release began. Investigations into the cause of the disruption are currently underway.
Radiation Water Release Interrupted by Alarms
Kim Young-soo, the First Deputy Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, stated in a briefing at 9:13 PM that “Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) 20th treated water release, which resumed on June 11th, was automatically halted around 5:04 PM today due to the sounding of an alarm during the transfer of treated water. The cause is currently being investigated.”
TEPCO has been storing and treating radioactive contaminated water generated during the decommissioning process of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which suffered a severe accident in 2011. The treated water, after undergoing processing by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove most radioactive substances, is then diluted and discharged into the sea.
Previous Halt and Restart
The 20th release of treated water commenced on June 1st. However, on June 10th, an alarm sounded during the water transfer process at approximately 4:17 PM, leading to an automatic suspension of the discharge. TEPCO attributed the alarm to an anomaly in the transfer pump’s valve, citing issues between the storage tank and the pump system. After replacing the valve, TEPCO resumed the discharge on June 11th at 4:10 PM. The latest suspension on June 13th marks the second time an alarm has triggered a halt within a two-week period.
Kim added, “The government is continuously monitoring the situation at Fukushima. We will provide further explanations through briefings as more information becomes available.”
