No sign of rising tritium levels in Russian territorial waters amid water discharge from Japanese Fukushima 1 NPP - Russian presidential rep

VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 11 (Interfax) - There are no signs of rising tritium levels in Russia's territorial waters amid the discharge of water from Japan's damaged Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), but hypothetical concerns remain, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov said.

"There are hypothetical concerns but no practical concerns for now. There is no sign of rising tritium levels in Russian territorial waters in particular," Ivanov said in response to Interfax's question.

Japanese specialists started dumping water, which had been used to cool the reactors of the damaged Fukushima 1 NPP in the Pacific on August 24. Prior to this, the NPP's operator, TEPCO, conducted another test of the tritium concentration in the water prepared for discharge after being mixed with a large amount of seawater.

The first phase of water discharge is due to last for 17 days, with a total of 7,800 tonnes of treated water, diluted with seawater to be discharged.

The NPP's operator took seawater samples after the discharge and said that they met safety requirements.

An earthquake near Japan's northeastern coast caused a tsunami in March 2011. A giant tidal wave hit the Fukushima 1 NPP, leading to the biggest nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

The Japanese authorities said in April 2021 that they would begin discharging treated water from the Fukushima 1 NPP into the ocean. That decision caused discontent among neighboring countries and fishing industry actors that feared consumers might reject seafood harvested in that area.