The Japanese government has requested Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) begin preparations for the release of treated water currently stored at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean. The first treated water is set to be discharged on or after 24 August.
At the Fukushima Daiichi site, contaminated water (in part used to cool melted nuclear fuel) is treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), which removes most of the radioactive contamination, with the exception of tritium. This treated water is currently stored in more than 1000 tanks on site. The total tank storage capacity amounts to about 1.37 million cubic metres and all the tanks are expected to reach full capacity in late 2023 or early 2024.
