IAEA Publishes Report on 2024 Interlaboratory Comparison
Overview
The Fisheries Agency announced that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had published the results of an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) conducted in 2024. Analytical laboratories from China, South Korea, and Switzerland also participated in the ILC. The IAEA reported that Japan’s sampling procedures continued to follow the appropriate criteria required to obtain representative samples, and that Japan’s analytical laboratories demonstrated a high level of capability and reliability based on the 2024 ILC and accurate results obtained in the past. These results were also consistent with routine monitoring, indicating that radionuclide concentrations in the marine environment around 1F remained relatively low and stable.
Key points
- The IAEA published a report on the results of the interlaboratory comparison (ILC) conducted in 2024.
- The IAEA evaluated Japan’s sampling procedures and the capability and reliability of its analytical laboratories.
- Radionuclide concentrations in the marine environment around 1F remain relatively low and stable.
- Analytical laboratories from China, South Korea, and Switzerland also participated in the ILC.
Overview
1. Overview explains that, based on a request from the Japanese government, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has conducted interlaboratory comparisons (ILC: Interlaboratory Comparison) since 2014 to support the Japanese government in ensuring the reliability and transparency of the results of marine monitoring in Japan’s waters. The Fisheries Agency is responsible for sampling fishery products and related activities.
The interlaboratory comparison program is part of a project launched as a follow-up to advice on marine monitoring included in a report compiled by the IAEA in fiscal year 2013 concerning the decommissioning of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F).
This announcement reports the publication of an IAEA report summarizing the results of the program conducted in 2024 and presents an overview of the results involving analytical laboratories from China, South Korea, and Switzerland.
Impact
According to the IAEA’s report, Japan’s sampling procedures continue to follow the appropriate criteria required to obtain representative samples. Based on the 2024 ILC and accurate results obtained in the past, Japan’s analytical laboratories have demonstrated a high level of capability and reliability.
These results are also consistent with routine monitoring, indicating that radionuclide concentrations in the marine environment around 1F remain relatively low and stable.
Details
Analytical laboratories from China, South Korea, and Switzerland selected by the IAEA also participated in the 2024 ILC. The report states that Japan’s analytical laboratories demonstrated a high level of capability and reliability based on the 2024 ILC and accurate results obtained in the past.
The Fisheries Agency is responsible for sampling fishery products and related activities in this program. The full report is available on the IAEA website, which also provides information about an introductory video on the ILC produced by the IAEA.
The ILC conducted to support the results of Japan’s marine monitoring related to the discharge of ALPS-treated water into the sea has been carried out since 2022 (Reiwa 4). The results of the report on samples collected in 2024 (Reiwa 6) are scheduled to be published separately by the IAEA.