The head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said on Friday he was aware that one or two experts behind the report greenlighting Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima plant may have had concerns.
"There have been some ideas to the effect that one or two experts would have been against ," Rafael Grossi told Reuters in his first interview since vouching for the safety of a plan that has faced criticism at home and abroad.
China's state-run Global Times newspaper on Thursday said Liu Senlin, a Chinese expert in the IAEA's technical working group, was disappointed with the "hasty" report and had said the input from experts was limited and only used for reference.
Grossi said the IAEA's report did not amount to an endorsement of the plan and that Tokyo must take the final decision to release the water due to start later this summer. South Korea, which has previously expressed concerns about the release, said on Friday Japan's plans met global safety standards and itBefore the water is released into the ocean, Japan says it will be filtered to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium, an isotope of hydrogen that is difficult to separate from water. The treated water will then be diluted to well below internationally approved levels, Japan says.
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