TOMIOKA, Japan (NEWSnet/AP) — The United Nations nuclear chief was to visit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Wednesday after the agency insisted on the safety of a 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 joined a meeting of government and utility officials, as well as local mayors and fishing association leaders, and stressed the continuous presence of this agency throughout the water discharge to ensure safety and address the residents' concerns.

“What is happening is not something exceptional, some strange plan that has been devised only to be applied here, and sold to you,” Grossi said in his opening remarks in Iwaki, Japan. “This is, as certified by the IAEA, the general practice that is agreed by and observed in many, many places all over the world.”

He insisted that IAEA will be reviewing, inspecting, checking the validity of the plan for decades to come, he said.

The IAEA, in a report released Tuesday, concluded the plan to release the diluted wastewater meets international standards, and its environmental and health impact would be negligible.

But local fishing organizations have rejected the plan because they worry that their reputation will be damaged regardless of the circumstances. It is also opposed by groups in South Korea, China and some Pacific Island nations.

An earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and contaminating cooling water. The water has been collected, treated and stored in tanks that will reach their capacity in early 2024.

Copyright 2023 NEWSnet and The Associated Press. All rights reserved.