The long-awaited dump of wastewater from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company into the Pacific Ocean has begun, sources said on Thursday.

The event is currently being broadcast live by several national TV companies. 

At 1213(HKT), the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant began to discharge contaminated water which has been in direct contact with nuclear active materials containing residues of a level 7 nuclear incident into the ocean.

This action has not been endorsed by anyone.

Mark this day. pic.twitter.com/zkyBQ8u105

— Taro (@taro_taylor) August 24, 2023

Fukushima radioactive contaminated water causes fish DNA mutation pic.twitter.com/T41ZRSVOkW

— Manipur Observer (曼尼普尔观察员） (@Jerrykkk888) August 22, 2023

In March 2011, Fukushima suffered one of the world's worst nuclear disasters since Chornobyl after a tsunami rocked the islands. 

About 1.33 million cubic meters of groundwater, rainwater, and water that was used for cooling the three damaged reactors at the Fukushima site are now being released.  

To remove the radioactive elements, plant operator TEPCO treated the water using its ALPS processing systems, which several neighboring countries have expressed skepticism regarding the system's reliability. 

Read more: Beijing to ban certain foods from Japan over wastewater release plans