PUBLICATION OF A REPORT ON INTERLABORATORY COMPARISON RELATED TO ALPS TREATED WATER CONDUCTED BY THE IAEA

TOKYO, Sept. 28 -- Ministry of the Environment issued the following news:

Publication of a report on Interlaboratory Comparison related to ALPS treated water conducted by the IAEA 1. At the request of the Government of Japan (GOJ), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been conducting Interlaboratory Comparison (ILC) to independently verify the results of Sea Area Monitoring in Japan.

The GOJ would like to announce that the IAEA has released a report presenting the results of an ILC for the purpose of corroboration on the Sea Area Monitoring related to ALPS treated water in 2024.

2.In the report, the IAEA concludes that "Japan's sample collection procedures followed the appropriate standards required to obtain representative samples" and "the accurate results obtained in this ILC and in previous IAEA ILCs demonstrate a high degree of proficiency on the part of the Japanese laboratories and confidence in the routine monitoring results.Furthermore, "these results are consistent with routine monitoring and indicate that the concentrations of radionuclides in the marine environment around Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO)'s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) continue to remain relatively low and stable".

The Ministry of the Environment (MOE), Japan, conducts Sea Area Monitoring related to ALPS treated water based on the Comprehensive Radiation Monitoring Plan.

Since 2022, this ILC has been started based on the Terms of Reference (TOR) on reviews of safety aspects handling ALPS treated water, signed in July 2021 with the IAEA.

In addition to experts from the IAEA, experts from the laboratories of ALMERA*1 in China, the Republic of Korea and Switzerland visited Japan in October 2024 to jointly collect samples*2. This press release is to announce the publication of the report on the results of the ILC in 2024.

For the Sea Area Monitoring related to the accident at TEPCO's FDNPS, another ILC has been conducted by the IAEA since 2014. The report summarizing the results of this ILC in 2024 was announced in the press release this September*3.



*1 The ALMERA network (Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity) is a network established in 1995 and comprising about 200 member laboratories globally, which is coordinated by the IAEA to maintain and develop capability for the determination of radionuclides in environmental samples.

*2Collection of Marine Samples as part of Joint Project with IAEA (Press Release on October 4, 2024)

　　　　https://www.env.go.jp/en/press/press_03324.html

*3 Publication of a report on Interlaboratory Comparison conducted jointly with IAEA (Press Release on September 17, 2026)

　　　　https://www.env.go.jp/press/press_04591.html



The report is available on the IAEA website.

https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/2026-09/third-interlaboratory-comparison-on-the-determination-of-radionuclides-in-the-marine-environment.pdf

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