Originally published on December 5, 2013

The International Atomic Energy Agency has advised Tokyo Electric Power Co to consider performing a controlled discharge of lightly contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean, because storing contaminated water at the plant is becoming increasingly risky.

Currently, around 400,000 tons of highly contaminated water are being stored in approximately 1,000 tanks at the site. TEPCO uses a system known as ALPS to filter strontium and other radioactive elements from water after first treating the water via a separate filtration unit for removing cesium. ALPS can remove 62 nuclides, including strontium and plutonium, but the relatively less harmful tritium remains.

It was reported that most of the highly contaminated water will be cleansed by ALPS in about seven years, but the amount of water containing tritium will exceed 700,000 tons in two years.

Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen with a half-life of about 12 years. It occurs naturally and is produced in the process of nuclear fission. Since it is a form of hydrogen, it is considered impossible to separate out once in water.

Local fishermen oppose dumping tritium-contaminated water into the ocean as it would cast a stigma over their catch for years to come.

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