TOKYO: Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. on Wednesday started the fourth and final release in fiscal 2023 of tritium-containing treated water from its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea.

In the fourth round through March 17, TEPCO will discharge about 7,800 tons of the treated water at a point 1 kilometer off the coast through an undersea tunnel, after diluting it with seawater.

The company said it has confirmed that the tritium level of the treated water to be released was below safety standards.

TEPCO and the Japanese government have been measuring tritium levels in seawater and fishery products since the first round began in August last year. The levels have so far been well below government-set safety standards.

A total of about 23,400 tons of the treated water was released into the sea in the previous three rounds. TEPCO plans to discharge a total of about 54,600 tons in seven rounds in fiscal 2024, which starts in April.

JIJI Press