Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency will jointly monitor waters off the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to gauge radioactive contamination in the sea, a step aimed to bolster the credibility of checks in response to international concerns.
Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency will jointly monitor waters off the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to gauge radioactive contamination in the sea, a step aimed to bolster the credibility of checks in response to international concerns.
Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, and Yukiya Amano, director-general of the Vienna-based IAEA, met in Tokyo on Oct. 10 to affirm a policy of mutual cooperation in the monitoring of radiation levels in seawater off the plant and nearby areas.
Amano has been calling for checks that comply with international standards in terms of selecting observation sites and other criteria as well as releasing the results and relevant information to the global community.
Currently, the task is primarily conducted by Tokyo Electric Power Co., which owns and operates the plant, and the government’s nuclear regulation agency.
The IAEA is expected to send a team of inspectors to Fukushima Prefecture in November to determine if the sites to sample seawater and the method to gauge pollution levels are appropriate.
Based on the outcome, officials with the NRA and the IAEA will discuss in detail how they can work together in monitoring and releasing information.