Eugene Hoshiko/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsIWAKI, Japan, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A team of international scientists collected fish samples from a port town near Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday, seeking to assess the impact of the plant's recent release of treated radioactive water into the sea.
Scientists from China, South Korea and Canada observed the collection of fish samples delivered fresh off the boat at Hisanohama port, about 50 kilometres south of the plant which was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The samples will be sent to laboratories in each country for independent testing, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
Before being released, the water is filtered to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is hard to separate, plant operator Tepco says.
Reporting by Reuters staff; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons:
Eugene Hoshiko, Paul McGinnity, John Geddie, Bernadette Baum
Organizations:
International Atomic Energy Agency, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, IAEA, Tepco, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
Hisanohama Port, Iwaki, Japan, Rights IWAKI, Japan's, China, South Korea, Canada