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ALPS treated water contains a radioactive substance called "tritium" that cannot be removed by purification equipment.
Tritium is a relative of hydrogen atom that has two more neutrons, . Like hydrogen, most tritium bonds with oxygen to form water.
Source: 8th Meeting of the Subcommittee on Handling of ALPS Treated Water Document 2-1 (Japanese only)
Tritium has two more neutrons than a normal hydrogen atom. This makes its atomic nucleus unstable. As a result, one of these neutrons releases electrons and changes into a proton thereby changing from tritium into helium. The electrons emitted are beta rays, a type of radiation. These beta rays are a weak type of radiation that can only travel about 5mm through the air.
Source: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy website (Japanese only)
“BOOKLET to Provide Basic Information Regarding Health Effects of Radiation FY2018 EDITION” (Ministry of the Environment)
Tritium is all around us.
Tritium is formed every day on earth by the cosmic radiation from space, the rain that falls on us, the water in our rivers, and even our drinking water, contains 0.1~1 becquerels*1 of tritium*2 per liter.
Tritium is also formed by radiation at nuclear power facilities both within and outside of Japan.
*1 Unit for measuring the ability of radioactive materials to give off radiation.
*2 According to the WHO “Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality”, the indicator (guidance level) of tritium in drinking water is 10,000 Bq/liter
Source: 2nd Meeting of the Subcommittee on Handling of ALPS Treated Water Document 4 (Japanese only)
Tritium has little impact on the human body compared to other radioactive substances.
Since the radiation given off by tritium is very weak and cannot even penetrate our skin, external exposure from tritium is not really a concern. There is also no risk of internal exposure since tritium is excreted from the body in the same manner as water and does not accumulate or concentrate inside the body.
Drinking water guidelines
Source: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy website (Japanese only)
“BOOKLET to Provide Basic Information Regarding Health Effects of Radiation FY2018 EDITION” (Ministry of the Environment)
In our daily lives we are exposed to naturally-occurring radiation and artificially-produced radiation. Each person in Japan is exposed to 2.1 mSv of natural radiation per year.
Source: “BOOKLET to Provide Basic Information Regarding Health Effects of Radiation FY2019 EDITION” (Ministry of the Environment)
Becquerel is a unit for measuring the ability of a radioactive material to emit radiation. In contrast, a sievert is a unit for measuring the amount of impact that radiation has on the human body. Even if the number of becquerels is equal, the impact on the human body may differ, or in other words, the number of sieverts may differ, depending on the type of radioactive material and the part of the body that is exposed to the radiation.
Source: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy website (Japanese only)
ALPS treated water contains a radioactive substance called "tritium" that cannot be removed by purification equipment. Tritium is a relative of hydrogen atom that has two more neutrons, . Like hydrogen, most tritium bonds with oxygen to form water.
Source: 8th Meeting of the Subcommittee on Handling of ALPS Treated Water Document 2-1 (Japanese only)
"Tritium has two more neutrons than a normal hydrogen atom. This makes its atomic nucleus unstable. As a result, one of these neutrons releases electrons and changes into a proton thereby changing from tritium into helium.
The electrons emitted are beta rays, a type of radiation. These beta rays are a weak type of radiation that can only travel about 5mm through the air."
Source: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy website (Japanese only)
“BOOKLET to Provide Basic Information Regarding Health Effects of Radiation FY2018 EDITION” (Ministry of the Environment)
Tritium is all around us.
Tritium is formed every day on earth by the cosmic radiation from space, the rain that falls on us, the water in our rivers, and even our drinking water, contains 0.1~1 becquerels*1 of tritium*2 per liter.
Tritium is also formed by radiation at nuclear power facilities both within and outside of Japan.
*1 Unit for measuring the ability of radioactive materials to give off radiation.
*2 According to the WHO “Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality”, the indicator (guidance level) of tritium in drinking water is 10,000 Bq/liter
Source: 2nd Meeting of the Subcommittee on Handling of ALPS Treated Water Document 4 (Japanese only)
Tritium has little impact on the human body compared to other radioactive substances.
Since the radiation given off by tritium is very weak and cannot even penetrate our skin, external exposure from tritium is not really a concern. There is also no risk of internal exposure since tritium is excreted from the body in the same manner as water and does not accumulate or concentrate inside the body.
Source: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy website (Japanese only)
“BOOKLET to Provide Basic Information Regarding Health Effects of Radiation FY2018 EDITION” (Ministry of the Environment)
In our daily lives we are exposed to naturally-occurring radiation and artificially-produced radiation. Each person in Japan is exposed to 2.1 mSv of natural radiation per year.
Source: “BOOKLET to Provide Basic Information Regarding Health Effects of Radiation FY2019 EDITION” (Ministry of the Environment)
Becquerel is a unit for measuring the ability of a radioactive material to emit radiation. In contrast, a sievert is a unit for measuring the amount of impact that radiation has on the human body. Even if the number of becquerels is equal, the impact on the human body may differ, or in other words, the number of sieverts may differ, depending on the type of radioactive material and the part of the body that is exposed to the radiation.
Source: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy website (Japanese only)
The beta ray radiation given off by tritium is so weak that it cannot be directly measured.
Therefore, we use a special analysis method to measure concentration that entails adding a chemical that glows slightly when hit by radiation (scintillator) and measuring the amount of light given off.
This method conforms with “Tritium Analysis Methods” stated in Series 9 of the Radiation Measurement Methods (made by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science).
Preparation of sample water
The analyst reads the QR code on the container containing the sample water and registers it in various information systems.
Dissolution of impurities
Reagents (sodium peroxide and potassium permanganate) are added in the sample water to dissolve impurities.
Impurities removal
The sample is distilled to remove impurities that would interfere with measurements.
Adding reagent
A reagent (scintillator) that reacts to radiation by emitting light is added to the distilled water.
The sample is stored in a dark environment for one day.
Concentration measurement
The sample is put into the measurement device.
The concentration of tritium is measured by three detectors that capture the amount of light coming from the sample.
For analyzing tritium contained in fish, it takes about one and a half months due to additional pretreatment process.
Confirmation of analysis results
Analysis results are automatically collected and graphed.
At this point in time there is no technology for separating tritium from ALPS treated water that has reached the practical application level. A wide variety of research with third-parties, etc. is underway to examine the possibility of bringing such tritium separation technology to the practical application stage. And, if such technology can be realistically applied, we shall proactively examine it and put it to use.
Technical proposals accepted since January 2023
*Click the following link for more information
Technology to Separate Tritium from Water Treated with Multi-Nuclide Removal Equipment (ALPS)
【Attention】
In relation to the open call for “Technology to separate Tritium from Water Treated with Multi-Nuclide Removal Equipment (ALPS)”, it was reported that there was acts such as demanding money based on a false information that their proposal has been adopted.
TEPCO Group Companies, Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI), a third party organization, and the relevant ministries will NOT demand for any money related to this open call.
The World Health Organization's (WHO) drinking water quality guidelines state that the concentration of tritium in drinking water must be below 10,000 Bq/L. At this concentration, the human body is exposed to 0.000018 mSv's of radiation. This is 1/1000 the exposure from radioactive cesium, which is the radioactive substance used when setting standards for radioactive substances in food.
