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STORY: IAEA / FUKUSHIMA SEAWATER SAMPLING
TRT: 04:57
SOURCE: IAEA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 24 JUNE 2026, FUKUSHIMA JAPAN
1. Wide shot, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi approaches press conference podium
2. Wide shot, journalists
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
“The progress is quite impressive, I should say, especially since this operation is being carried out in parallel with a very strict international monitoring system with the IAEA, which means that it has to comply with not only national safety standards, but also international safety standards.”
4. Various shots, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and experts from China, the Republic of Korea and Switzerland collecting seawater samples near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
“Paragraph eight of this memorandum of understanding says explicitly that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with regards to the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA in all letters.”
6. Various shots, Grossi and experts collecting seawater samples
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
“Our work here is to confirm that the releases that are performed from this place are in full conformity with internationally recognised nuclear safety standards. And so far, until today, this is undoubtedly the case. 20 batches of water have been released. We have been checking constantly as I committed myself to do that. This will be done before the release, during the release and after the release.”
8. Various shots, Grossi and experts collecting seawater samples
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
“It's not possible to be exact on the timelines. So, 2051 is a good estimation. It is conservative, I would say, and rightly so. I think the government cannot be promising, or TEPCO cannot be promising what they cannot deliver. But I'm pretty confident that things are going to be moving faster. The introduction of technology, the ever-increasing efficiency with which staff here is working, makes me pretty confident that things are going to continue in a very positive way, and perhaps even before that.”
10. Various shots, Grossi and experts collecting seawater samples
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi today (24 Jun) participated in the additional measures to collect seawater samples, together with other international experts from China, the Republic of Korea and Switzerland, near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), as part of continuous efforts to ensure that radioactivity levels remain well below safety levels.
Talking to reporters, Grossi said, “the progress is quite impressive, I should say, especially since this operation is being carried out in parallel with a very strict international monitoring system with the IAEA, which means that it has to comply with not only national safety standards, but also international safety standards.”
The sampling is being conducted under Additional Measures agreed by the IAEA and Japan in 2024 which aim to broaden international participation and enhance transparency in the IAEA’s sampling and independent analysis in relation to the discharge of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water. Taking part in the additional measures sampling for the second time, Director General Grossi collected seawater with the international experts.
Taking questions from reporters, Grossi said, “paragraph eight of this memorandum of understanding says explicitly that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with regards to the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA in all letters.”
TEPCO, the plant’s operator, began discharging ALPS treated water from the FDNPS in August 2023. Since then, more than 156,000 cubic metres have been diluted and released in 20 batches. The Agency has confirmed that the tritium levels in the batches released so far were far below Japan’s operational limit. TEPCO intends to discharge the treated water in a series of batches over the coming decades.
The Director-General said, “our work here is to confirm that the releases that are performed from this place are in full conformity with internationally recognised nuclear safety standards. And so far, until today, this is undoubtedly the case. 20 batches of water have been released. We have been checking constantly as I committed myself to do that. This will be done before the release, during the release and after the release.”
The samples taken today will be sent for analysis by the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco, laboratories in Japan and the participating laboratories of the Third Institute of Oceanography in China, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety in the Republic of Korea and the Spiez Laboratory in Switzerland.
On the timeline for completion of the work, Grossi said, “it’s not possible to be exact on the timelines. So, 2051 is a good estimation. It is conservative, I would say, and rightly so. I think the government cannot be promising, or TEPCO cannot be promising what they cannot deliver. But I'm pretty confident that things are going to be moving faster. The introduction of technology, the ever-increasing efficiency with which staff here is working, makes me pretty confident that things are going to continue in a very positive way, and perhaps even before that.
The IAEA will continue its impartial, independent, and objective safety review of the ALPS treated water discharge, by having a continuous onsite presence, corroborating monitoring data through Interlaboratory Comparisons and providing live online monitoring.
