The IAEA has been conducting the interlaboratory comparison to corroborate the results of Japan's Sea Area monitoring related to the discharges of ALPS treated water into the sea since 2022. The IAEA compared analysis results among laboratories of Japan, the IAEA and third-country laboratories from Canada, China and the Republic of Korea selected by the IAEA on the collected samples in October 2023 and released its result.
This IAEA review is based on the Terms of Reference (TOR) on reviews of safety aspects of handling ALPS treated water signed in July 2021 with the IAEA.
In the published report, the IAEA concluded that “Japan’s sample collection procedures follow the appropriate methodological standards required to obtain representative samples” and “the accurate results obtained in ILC 2023 demonstrate a high degree of proficiency on the part of the Japanese laboratories involved in the analyses of radionuclides in marine samples for environmental monitoring”.
The ILC that is part of a project following the recommendations made on marine monitoring in a report by the IAEA in 2013 related to the decommissioning of FDNPS has been conducted since 2014 and last December, IAEA released the report on the results of the ILC organized in 2023.
The Government of Japan will continue to provide necessary information to the IAEA and will remain committed to making efforts to promote better understanding in the international community regarding the handling of ALPS treated water.