Why does this only compare tritium, which is the supposedly safe material? What about "cesium, cobalt, lithium, and strontium" which are supposedly more dangerous?
Those elements have already been filtered out [1]:
> Radioactive materials such as cesium, strontium, iodine, and cobalt are purified by ALPS through co-precipitation treatment using solutions and adsorption on activated carbon and adsorbents. Almost all radioactive materials are removed through repeated treatment by ALPS, but tritium, which is a radioisotope of hydrogen, exists as a part of the water molecule and cannot be removed through treatment by ALPS and other equipment.
It's only tritium that can't be removed (and that is why it is released by other nuclear power plants - in larger quantities that is planned here - as part of normal operation).
Gotcha. "as of January 2023, approximately 70% of the water stored in tanks still contained radioactive materials at concentrations exceeding the regulatory standards, in addition to tritium, due to such reasons as failures in purification equipment" -- so what's left is a matter of trust that they have got their equipment working and the actual water released isn't still contaminated.
Bottom line point stands, more is released regularly and this is nothing compared to the initial deluge of untreated material from the accident itself.
For the latter, obviously yes. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Association) has done it's own independent tests, as well as actively monitored japanese tests while on site.
> Radioactive materials such as cesium, strontium, iodine, and cobalt are purified by ALPS through co-precipitation treatment using solutions and adsorption on activated carbon and adsorbents. Almost all radioactive materials are removed through repeated treatment by ALPS, but tritium, which is a radioisotope of hydrogen, exists as a part of the water molecule and cannot be removed through treatment by ALPS and other equipment.
It's only tritium that can't be removed (and that is why it is released by other nuclear power plants - in larger quantities that is planned here - as part of normal operation).
[1] https://www.env.go.jp/en/chemi/rhm/basic-info/1st/06-03-05.h...