Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) started a fresh release of treated water containing tritium, a radioactive substance, from its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the sea on Friday.
In the first round of this fiscal year, about 7,800 metric tons of treated water will be discharged about 1 kilometer offshore after being diluted with a large amount of seawater. The release is set to run until May 7.
This is the fifth round in total since the water release started in August 2023. In fiscal 2024, which ends in March 2025, Tepco plans to release a total of 54,600 metric tons across seven rounds.
The nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture was severely damaged in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Monitoring by Tepco and the government has so far shown that tritium levels in seawater and fishery products are well below the government-set standards.