TOKYO, Japan - The Japanese government will decide on Tuesday about the release of treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, the government minister in charge said.
Around 1.34 million tonnes of water, equivalent to more than 500 Olympic swimming pools, have accumulated since the Fukushima plant was knocked out by an earthquake and tsunami that killed 18,000 people in 2011.
"Relevant ministers will discuss and share information on what next steps should be taken, and based on these discussions, we would like to make a decision about the timing," he said. TEPCO says that it has been diluted and filtered to remove all radioactive substances except tritium, which is far below dangerous levels.
Environmental pressure group Greenpeace says, however, that the filtration process is flawed and that an"immense" quantity of radioactive material will be dispersed into the sea over the coming decades.China -- Japan's biggest market for seafood -- has banned food shipments from 10 Japanese prefectures and imposed radiation checks on imports from elsewhere.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised a 30-billion-yen fund to compensate local fishermen for reputational damage.
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