Photo/Illutration Tanks holding water treated by the ALPS multi-nuclide removal equipment cover the premises of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Jan. 19. (Shigetaka Kodama)

FUKUSHIMA—A South Korean government team began a two-day on-site safety inspection of Japan’s plan to release tons of treated water into the ocean from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The 21-member team, including experts on nuclear power plants and marine environment, checked relevant facilities for the water discharge at the plant on the morning of May 23.

Many citizens and officials in South Korea are strongly concerned that water discharged from the plant could create international health hazards.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the plant, has repeatedly said the water will first be treated and diluted with seawater so that it falls within safety standards.

The South Korean government said the team was sent to directly check the water purification process, the overall discharge operation, and the capability to analyze radioactive materials, as well as to determine if further measures for public health and safety are necessary.

“This is one of the steps in comprehensively evaluating whether Japan’s discharge plan is appropriate,” team leader Yoo Guk-hee, chairman of South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, told reporters on May 21. “Based on scientific evidence and standards, we will continue to check the safety (of the treated water).”

Through May 24, the team will check TEPCO’s advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, which can remove most radioactive substances from the contaminated water, except for tritium.

ALPS-treated water is now stored in more than 1,000 tanks at the plant. But groundwater continues to accumulate and become contaminated at the plant, and storage space is running out.

Dilution will reduce the tritium concentration in the water to one-40th of the government safety standard, or one-seventh of the World Health Organization’s standard for drinking water, according to TEPCO.

On May 22, the South Korean experts held talks with officials from TEPCO and the Japanese government ahead of the on-site inspection, according to the South Korean side.

A summary session is scheduled for May 25 after the team’s inspection of the plant.

The South Korean visit is a result of an agreement between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at their bilateral summit on May 7.

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