Water Discharge From Fukushima NPP to Begin on August 24 If Conditions Allow

TOKYO (Sputnik) - The release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) into the sea will begin on August 24 if weather and sea conditions allow, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday.

"As for the specific release dates: if there are no contraindications due to weather and sea conditions, then we are counting on August 24," Kishida said.

Japan initially planned to begin discharging water purified of all radionuclides except tritium into the ocean 0.6 miles from the station this spring. However, the deadline was pushed back to the summer of 2023 due to adverse weather conditions and other factors.

The Fukushima nuclear disaster occurred on March 11, 2011, as the plant was severely damaged by a magnitude 9 earthquake in the Pacific Ocean that subsequently triggered a massive tsunami that thenhit the plant and caused three nuclear reactors to melt down.

The accident is considered the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl accident in 1986, and has resulted in widespread contamination of local soil and water. The disaster left 22,200 people dead or missing.