Japan plans to dump 11,500 tons of radioactive water at sea to free up storage space at its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for more highly contaminated water, the plant's operator said on Monday.
A spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said the water that the company intends to release into the Pacific is only weakly radioactive and has to be cleared out to make room for more radioactive waste water.
"Highly radioactive waste water has been accumulated at turbine buildings at Fukushima Daiichi, especially at the reactor unit 2," the official told reporters.
"There is a need to release already stored water in order to accept the additional waste water."
About 10,000 tons of radioactive waste water currently stored at a facility at Fukushima will be released into the ocean along with 1,500 tons of water from pits under reactor units 5 and 6 in the six-reactor plant, he said.
He said the release would take place "as soon as necessary preparations are made".
Government spokesman Yukio Edano confirmed the plan at a televised press conference, saying it was the only available option.
"We have no choice but to release water tainted with radioactive materials into the ocean as a safety measure," Edano said.