Imagine a big building that makes electricity using a special kind of energy called nuclear energy. This building is called the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and it's in Japan. Now, sometimes, this kind of plant creates something called "radioactive water." This water needs to be carefully taken care of because it has some stuff in it that can be harmful to nature.
But here's the thing: the plant has too much of this water, and they need to make space for it to keep the place safe. So, they decided to release this water into the nearby ocean, but they're doing it in a very careful way to make sure it's safe.
Now, some people are worried about this because they think it might affect the fish and other animals in the ocean. China, a country near Japan, even said they won't buy seafood from Japan for now because they're worried too.
But experts who know a lot about this kind of thing checked the water and said that it's not too dangerous. They made sure it's safe for the environment before releasing it.
People from all around the world are watching to make sure everything is done the right way. They're making sure the water isn't too harmful and that the ocean and animals will be okay.
This is a big job that will take a long time because they need to be very careful. They're using special pumps and machines to release the water slowly and safely. And everyone is learning from this experience to make sure that when we use special energy, we also take care of the environment.
Backstory: The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was severely damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The disaster led to the meltdown of reactor cores and the release of radioactive materials.
Contaminated Water: In an effort to prevent the damaged reactor cores from overheating, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) sprayed seawater over them. As a result, large amounts of contaminated water were produced, which needed to be stored on-site.
Storage: TEPCO stored this contaminated water in more than 1,000 tanks on the plant's premises. However, the available space for building additional tanks is limited.
Disposal Challenges: TEPCO faced challenges in finding practical solutions for disposing of the contaminated water. The method involves discharging the treated water into the ocean, as there was no other viable alternative available.
Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS): The contaminated water was prepared for disposal using a system called the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). This system employs chemical and physical processes to remove 64 radionuclides from the polluted water.
