The dumping of groundwater into the Pacific from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex won't start until May or later, industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi said.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. has not announced when it will activate the groundwater pumping system, but the plan is to diver the several hundred tons of groundwater that flows into the plant's premises each day before it can mix with the highly radioactive water in and around the basements of the power plant's crippled reactor buildings. This theoretically means the groundwater should be mostly untainted by radiation.
Motegi said in a meeting Sunday with local fishermen that the release of groundwater will not take place before the season for catching young sand lance ends at the end of April.
He also said the government and Tepco will reply in writing Friday to a request by Fukushima fishermen for steps to ensure the radiation level of the water dumped into the sea won't exceed the stringent levels already established.