TOKYO: The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday began its second review of the operations to discharge into the sea tritium-containing treated water from the meltdown-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

An IAEA mission met with representatives of the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. in Tokyo on the day.

In the review through Friday, the mission is slated to conduct an on-site survey of the TEPCO plant in Fukushima Prefecture and exchange views with TEPCO and the country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority. The water release started last August.

At the Tuesday meeting, Gustavo Caruso, director of the IAEA’s Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, said that the international nuclear watchdog’s independent, objective and scientific approach in the review will help build trust between Japan and other countries.

Caruso voiced hopes that expert reviews of the water discharge operations will be conducted for some more years.

The IAEA team, which includes experts from countries such as China and South Korea, is set to draw up a report on the safety of the release of the water containing tritium, a radioactive substance, into the sea.

An IAEA report compiled after the first review last October confirmed that the discharge was consistent with international safety standards.

The Fukushima No. 1 plant was heavily damaged in the March 2011 powerful earthquake and tsunami.

JIJI Press