IAEA Takes First Practical Steps for Additional Measures at Sea Near Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has initiated the first practical steps for implementing additional safety measures at sea near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS). This effort began with marine sampling, facilitated by international experts who were in Japan for an IAEA mission aimed at gathering samples for the latest interlaboratory comparison (ILC) related to the discharge of water treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS).

This initiative follows the recent agreement between China and Japan to introduce additional safety measures, which will promote broader participation of stakeholders within the IAEA framework. The IAEA has confirmed that these new measures build upon its ongoing sampling and monitoring efforts, in accordance with its statutory mandate.

Experts from China's Third Institute of Oceanography, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, and Switzerland's Spiez Laboratory— all members of the IAEA’s Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity (ALMERA) network—participated in the marine sampling near the Fukushima site. These experts conducted hands-on sampling, with the collected samples to be further analyzed in their respective laboratories.

“The IAEA will continue to work closely with Japan and other involved parties, including China, to ensure the proper implementation of these additional safety measures under the IAEA framework,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. “We are committed to maintaining transparency throughout this process, ensuring that water discharge levels remain fully compliant with international safety standards.”

This mission marks the beginning of a broader effort to implement additional safeguards. The IAEA will sustain its independent and objective safety reviews throughout the water discharge process by maintaining a continuous presence on-site, validating monitoring data through ILCs, and providing live online monitoring. Ongoing technical collaboration will ensure the smooth execution of these additional measures.