MOSCOW, July 27. /TASS/. Tokyo's plans to dump radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean do not pose a significant threat to the environment. Ivan Nechayev, Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Department, told a briefing on Wednesday.
"If we believe the information that comes through official channels, the actions [to dump radioactive water] planned by TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power) do not pose major risks to the environment," he said.
The diplomat also noted that Russia has not made any protests to Japan in connection with these plans.
"However, there are certain points that need to be clarified. In this regard, Russia and China jointly prepared and submitted to Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA - TASS) a detailed list of questions. The answer from Japan was received last week. It will be thoroughly studied by specialized Russian experts," the diplomat went on to say.
"We expect that the Japanese side will show due transparency and will give the interested states full access to all the information they are interested in regarding the planned dumping, which includes the possibility of taking environmental samples there where it will be made," Nechayev summed up.
As it was reported earlier, Tokyo's plan to release water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant drew sharp criticism from a number of countries, primarily China. At the same time, the IAEA in May confirmed the safety of such measures. Currently, more than 1.25 million tons of treated water has accumulated in the steel tanks on the territory of the nuclear power plant. It is supposed to be discharged into the ocean stage-by-stage within 30 years. The IAEA intends to monitor this process on an ongoing basis.