China joins mission to test seas, marine life around Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant for radioactive content

Name: Japan begins releasing second batch of treated waste water from stricken Fukushima nuclear plant
Uploaded: 2023-10-18T01:04:55.000Z
Duration: 2 min 19 s
Description: Japan begins releasing second batch of treated waste water from stricken Fukushima nuclear plant

IAEA inter-lab mission to test water, sediment and seafood follows second waste discharge from stricken plant

This is the first time a Chinese lab has joined an ILC marine mission to the tsunami-wrecked site since they started in 2014.

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A photo released by TEPCO on August 23 shows International Atomic Energy Agency staff witnessing sampling for the initial release of treated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture. Photo: Handout

Victoria Bela

Published: 9:04am, 18 Oct 2023

Chinese experts have joined a marine mission led by the International Atomic Energy Agency aimed at backing up Japan’s environmental monitoring results around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The monitoring mission, which began on Monday, coincides with Russia joining China in suspending the import of Japanese seafood, nearly two weeks after Japan began the second round of water discharge from the tsunami-wrecked power plant.

The IAEA’s inter-laboratory comparison (ILC) mission aims to test seawater and seabed sediment samples, as well as seafood caught near the power plant, for radionuclide content – or radioactive materials.

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Japan begins releasing second batch of treated waste water from stricken Fukushima nuclear plant

In the mission lasting until Monday, experts from Health Canada, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety and the Third Institute of Oceanography of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources will seek to determine whether there are significant statistical differences in results between laboratories.

It is the first time a Chinese lab has joined an ILC environmental monitoring mission to the Japanese site since they started in 2014.

Two staff from IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco are also taking part in the monitoring missions. The teams will send “identical samples” to their respective labs for analysis, according to the agency.

The ILC missions began “at the request of the Japanese government” according to a press release last week from Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority.

China joins mission to test seas, marine life around Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant for radioactive content

IAEA inter-lab mission to test water, sediment and seafood follows second waste discharge from stricken plant This is the first time a Chinese lab has joined an ILC marine mission to the tsunami-wrecked site since they started in 2014.

IAEA inter-lab mission to test water, sediment and seafood follows second waste discharge from stricken plant

This is the first time a Chinese lab has joined an ILC marine mission to the tsunami-wrecked site since they started in 2014.