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  5. The IAEA Published a Report on "IAEA’s Independent Sampling, Data Corroboration, and Analysis Activities" from Its Review of Safety Related Aspects of Handling ALPS Treated Water at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

The IAEA Published a Report on "IAEA’s Independent Sampling, Data Corroboration, and Analysis Activities" from Its Review of Safety Related Aspects of Handling ALPS Treated Water at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

January 4, 2023

On December 29th, the IAEA published a report on "IAEA’s Independent Sampling, Data Corroboration, and Analysis Activities" associated with its review of the safety of ALPS treated water at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) which began in 2021. This report describes IAEA’s planned corroboration activities and future reports will be published when the results of the analysis become available.

1. Summary

The IAEA review of the safety aspects of handling of ALPS treated water is being conducted consistent with the associated Terms of Reference (TOR), which was signed with the IAEA in July 2021. The IAEA’s review will be conducted before, during and after the ALPS treated water discharge, and is being implemented by the IAEA Task Force, which consists of IAEA officials and international experts.
This report mainly describes IAEA’s activities including analysis and data corroboration of source and environmental monitoring associated with the ALPS treated water discharge and technical capabilities associated with occupational radiation protection.

Ref) The IAEA Task Force includes international experts, serving in a personal capacity, from Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Republic of Korea, the Marshall Islands, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

2. Key Points of the Report 

*There are quotes from the IAEA report (Including some summaries)
The report is intended to provide confidence in the accuracy of the data provided by TEPCO and Japanese authorities.
The three main components of the IAEA corroboration activities are as follows:

  1. Sampling, analysis and interlaboratory comparison (ILC) for ALPS treated water.
  2. Sampling, analysis and ILC for environmental samples (e.g., seawater, fish) from the surrounding environment.
  3. Assessment of the capabilities of dosimetry service providers involved in the monitoring of internal and external radiation exposure of workers.

The report provides an update on progress demonstrated to date and what future activities can be anticipated. Future reports will be published when the results of the analysis become available. Additionally, as the safety review continues before, during, and after the discharges of ALPS treated water, updates on the IAEA's corroboration activities will be made public.

<Source Monitoring>

The third-party laboratories participating in the First ILC for Corroboration of Source Monitoring (March 2022)
:Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (Republic of Korea)
:Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (France)
:Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA)
:Labor Spiez (Switzerland)

The third-party laboratory participating in the Second and Third ILCs for Corroboration of Source Monitoring (October 2022)
:Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (Republic of Korea)

<Environmental Monitoring>

<Review of Sampling and Analysis Methods for the Anticipated Future Activities>

<Corroboration Concept for Occupational Radiation Protection Data>

3. Response to the IAEA report

The Government of Japan will ensure that rigorous and transparent reviews are conducted according to the plan described in the report. As the discharge plan progresses, the Government of Japan will continue to confirm safety in accordance with international safety standards through IAEA reviews, and all possible measures will be taken to ensure safety.
METI will take necessary measures, as appropriate, regarding the discharge ALPS treated water into the sea on the basic premise of safety, taking into account the results of the IAEA review.

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Nuclear Accident Response Office, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy