The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called on Japan to cooperate on the disposal of diluted, contaminated wastewater accumulating at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaking with Japan's public media organization, NHK, on Wednesday said the agency is aware of these difficult circumstances and acknowledged both local concerns and those from neighboring countries.
Grossi said that once the Japanese government makes a decision on how to dispose of wastewater accumulating at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP, the IAEA would be able and willing to cooperate with Japan. The NPP was damaged in the tsunami that occurred after an earthquake in northeast Japan in 2011.
While the government has yet to decide what method to adopt for the disposal, the radioactive wastewater, stored at the facilities and increasing day by day, is expected to fill the water storage tank capacity of the Fukushima complex in the summer of 2022.
The agency is discussing a proposal with its Japanese counterparts to set up joint teams to monitor the discharged water, although no further information on this was given.
Reporting by Ahmet Furkan Mercan in Tokyo
Writing by Firdevs Yuksel
Anadolu Agency
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