Sixth stage of discharge of water from Fukushima nuclear power plant into ocean begins

By Alimat Aliyeva

The sixth stage of the discharge into the Pacific Ocean of water used to cool the cores of three reactors of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which were disabled as a result of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011, has begun, Azernews reports.

Despite strong protests at home and abroad, the station's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), plans to dump 7,800 tons of water into the ocean at this stage.

Recall that TEPCO began dumping water from the station into the ocean in August last year. Over the next 30 years, the company plans to dump 1.34 million tons of water used to cool nuclear power plant reactors into the ocean, which accounts for 98 percent of the plant's water reserves.

It should be noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has approved the discharge of water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. After the release of the first batch of water, experts from Japan and the UAE said that the results of the analysis of samples taken from the ocean and fish comply with the standards.

However, neighboring countries, especially China and Russia, oppose the discharge of water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. Official Beijing, questioning the positive opinion of the UAE, warned several times about the immediate cessation of water discharge into the ocean. China has even stopped importing seafood from Japan.