IAEA chief will visit Japan’s tsunami-wrecked nuclear plant before radioactive water is released

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — The U.N. nuclear chief is to visit Japan’s tsunami-wrecked nuclear power plant Wednesday after the agency affirmed the safety of a contentious plan to release treated radioactive water into the sea. On his way to the Fukushima Daiichi plant, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi will join government and utility officials to hear the concerns of mayors and fishing association leaders and to assure them of the plan’s safety. The IAEA’s final report concluded the plan to release the wastewater — which would be significantly diluted but still have some radioactivity — meets international standards and its environmental and health impact would be negligible.