Did the Fukushima nuclear power plant discharge contaminated water directly into the ocean? No, that's not true: The water from the nuclear power station wrecked by the 2011 tsunami that hit Japan is released into the ocean after purification, repurification and dilution.
The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published on August 27, 2023. The text (translated from Japanese to English by Lead Stories staff) reads:
Don't turn away from reality. The contaminated water discharged from the TEPCO Fukushima nuclear power plant is different from the treated water discharged from nuclear power plants around the world.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Wed Aug 30 14:57:29 2023 UTC)
The above handwritten illustration in the TikTok video shows contaminated water going directly into the ocean, without any purification process.
Japan's Reconstruction Agency, the Japanese government agency whose job is the reconstruction process following the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, shared the following illustration to show how the contaminated water is treated, going through a purification process, before it gets discharged into the ocean.
(Source: Japan Reconstruction Agency screenshot taken on Wed Aug 30 15:37:51 2023 UTC)
The Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry also shared an illustration showing how the contaminated water goes through several steps before being released into the ocean:
(Source: Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry screenshot taken on Wed Aug 30 15:45:11 2023 UTC)
This ministry has a dedicated website to explain how the purification process is done and how safe the treated water is.
The discharge is a key step in decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant after the 2011 tsunami destroyed it. The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency, approved in July 2023 Japan's plans to release the treated water into the ocean, saying, after a two-year review, that they met global safety standards.
