Fukushima official says release of treated water is a milestone in nuclear plant’s decommissioning

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — An official in charge of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says the upcoming release of treated radioactive water into the sea more than 12 years after the reactors’ meltdown marks “a milestone,” but is still only an initial step in a daunting decades-long decommissioning process. Junichi Matsumoto told The Associated Press in an interview that the plant’s operator still has to tackle far more challenging and higher-risk operations such as the removal of melted fuel from the damaged reactor cores. The wastewater release plan has faced strong opposition from in and outside Japan because of safety worries and political reasons.