The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Friday it started releasing a fifth batch of treated radioactive water into the sea from the plant, amid opposition from
Before releasing water,
The utility plans to discharge a total of about 54,600 tons on seven occasions this fiscal year. Tritium levels are expected to be kept to around 14 trillion becquerels, below the annual cap of 22 trillion becquerels.
The water is being treated using an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, to remove most of the contaminants other than the relatively nontoxic tritium.
Since the start of the operation on
During the release of the previous four batches,
The utility sees the discharge as a key step in the ongoing decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which suffered fuel meltdowns in three reactors following a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
==Kyodo
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