A government inspection team that inspected the radioactive contaminated water treatment facility at Japan's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant said, "In the course of the inspection, we requested and obtained raw data (raw data) from Tokyo Electric Power Company for the polynucleated species removal facility of contaminated water and the concentration of Alps inlet and exit points."

Yoo Kook-hee, chairman of the Nuclear Safety Commission, who heads the inspection team, said at a briefing on the inspection results held at the Seoul Government Office Building today (31st) morning, "We focused on the performance of radionuclide removal in the Alps and the possibility of stable operation for a long time."

The inspection team received data from the facilities that were operated for four years from 1 to last year for 64 nuclides that are analyzed once a year, and among them, about 2019 nuclides with a large detection history secured the inlet and outlet concentrations measured once a week.

In addition, Chairman Yu explained that after inquiring with Tokyo Electric Power Company about the timing of replacing the adsorbent material at the ALPS facility, he received an answer that after treating 4,10 tons of contaminated water, it would be replaced when the purification capacity deteriorated in the concentration analysis once a week.

Regarding the tritium dilution and release facility, Chairman Yu said, "We have confirmed that the seawater transfer pump is designed with sufficient capacity to meet the dilution target."

"We have confirmed that sampling and analysis to confirm tritium concentrations will be carried out once in the upstream tank before ocean release and once daily in the pipe between the seawater pipe header and the upstream tank during ocean release," he added.

"Through this inspection, we confirmed that the main facilities were installed at the site as designed, and we also confirmed the means to block the release of contaminated water in the event of an abnormal situation," he said, adding, "We also obtained specific data, and meaningful progress was made in the scientific and technological review process."

However, he said, "Further analysis and confirmation are required for more precise judgment," adding, "The possibility of long-term stable operation will be confirmed by analyzing the failure cases that have been secured so far, and securing additional ALPS periodic inspection items and maintenance plans."

(Photo=Yonhap News)