Announcements
Prior Consent of Fukushima Prefecture, Okuma Town, and Futaba Town Regarding the Installation of ALPS Treated Water Dilution/Discharge Facilities, etc. at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station based on the Agreement to Ensure Safety in Decommissioning
August 2, 2022
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.
Considering the Japanese government’s basic policy announced in April 2021, TEPCO had been reviewing the details of the design and operation of ALPS treated water dilution/discharge facility and related facilities regarding the handling of ALPS treated water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, listening to opinions of the people in the region and parties concerned. In December 2021, TEPCO submitted a “Request for Prior Consent"*1 to Fukushima Prefecture, Okuma Town, and Futaba Town regarding the installation of ALPS treated water dilution/discharge facilities, etc. based on the Agreement to Ensure Safety in Surrounding Areas Related the Decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station*2 (hereinafter the Agreement to Ensure Safety in Decommissioning). Today, the municipalities granted us prior consent.
Regarding the design and operation of ALPS treated water dilution/discharge facilities, etc., TEPCO had been explaining to the municipalities the details of the application documents submitted to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (hereinafter NRA) and the status of review by the NRA in the “Fukushima Prefecture Safety Monitoring Council regarding the Nuclear Power Station Decommission” and the “Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Station Safety Assurance Technical Review Committee” after submitting the “Request for prior Consent" to them. In response, experts and the people from the prefecture and related municipalities had been confirming the state of the necessary safety measures.
In installing the ALPS treated water dilution/discharge facilities, etc., TEPCO will steadily implement initiatives based on the Japanese government's basic policy and will respond sincerely to each and every one of the eight requirements regarding additional safety improvements and easy-to-understand information dissemination laid out in the “Report on the Confirmation Results of the new Installation of ALPS Treated Water Dilution/Discharge Facility and Related Facilities at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station” issued by the Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Station Safety Assurance Technical Review Committee.
Continuing to move steadily and safely forward with decommissioning/contaminated water and treated water measures at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station requires risk reduction efforts in the long term. We will steadily work to further reduce the amount of contaminated water generated and to properly manage the radioactive waste generated in contaminated water treatment, which the prefectural governor and the mayors of the towns have given us today.
Furthermore, we will continue to do our utmost to increase the understanding of people of Fukushima and society at large regarding the handling of ALPS treated water as part of the decommissioning work, by focusing on our efforts to disseminate information based on scientific evidence to parties within and outside Japan in an easy-to-understand manner and taking every opportunity to listen to the concerns and opinions of the public and explain our approach and response.
While we will put safety as the top priority in construction of ALPS treated water dilution/discharge facilities, etc., we will also work to build trust of people within and outside Japan, by responding sincerely to safety confirmation by municipalities and reviews by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and disclosing the construction status as appropriate to secure objectivity and transparency.
*1 Prior consent needs to be obtained from Fukushima Prefecture, Okuma Town, and Futaba Town based on the Agreement to Ensure Safety in Decommissioning when building or expanding facilities in line with amending the Implementation Plan for Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Specified Nuclear Facility.
*2 Agreement signed among the four parties of Fukushima Prefecture, Okuma Town, Futaba Town, and TEPCO on January 2015 in order to secure the safety of the residents of the surrounding region and to restore the living environment through reduction of the site boundary dose by safely and steadily working toward the containment of the accident and decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
