- Home
- News Releases
- Back Issues
- February FY2023
- Briefing Session to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and Experts on the Current Status of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) Treated Water at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
Briefing Session to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and Experts on the Current Status of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) Treated Water at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
February 10, 2023
On 9th February 2022, a briefing session to the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretariat was organized on the current status of ALPS treated water at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS). Officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), and staff from TEPCO, on the Japanese side; PIF experts and secretariat, on the PIF side attended the session.
Discharge of ALPS treated water was discussed in the meetings between the delegation of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), led by Hon. Mark BROWN，Prime Minister of the Cook Islands and Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan and Mr. NISHIMURA Yasutoshi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry respectively on February 6 and 7.
During the briefing, the Japanese side explained based on the scientific evidence that the discharge of safe ALPS treated water into the sea is essential for the decommissioning work necessary for the reconstruction of Fukushima, and that it will never cause any harmful impact on Japan or the Pacific region because it will be strictly done under internationally accepted approaches and in full compliance with safety standards, followed by a Q&A session with the attendees.
In order to further deepen the understanding of the matters discussed on February 9th, the PIF delegation visited the FDNPS on February 10.
Based on the commitment made by then Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide at the 9 Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM9) in July 2021, all the related Ministries and Agencies of the Government of Japan will continue to work together to explain thoroughly the situation of the FDNPS to the Pacific Island countries based on the scientific evidence in a transparent manner.
[NOTE] ALPS treated water
ALPS treated water is water which is processed by devices such as ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) to ensure that the radioactive materials other than tritium surely meet the regulatory standards for safety. In addition, it is planned that ALPS treated water will then be sufficiently diluted before the discharges so that the concentrations of the radioactive materials including tritium will be far below the regulatory standards for safety.
ALPS treated water is water which is processed by devices such as ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) to ensure that the radioactive materials other than tritium surely meet the regulatory standards for safety. In addition, it is planned that ALPS treated water will then be sufficiently diluted before the discharges so that the concentrations of the radioactive materials including tritium will be far below the regulatory standards for safety.
Division in Charge
Nuclear Accident Response Office, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy