Fuel debris removal from reactor may start in 2022

The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant plans to start removing fuel debris from inside one of the damaged reactors next year.

The No.1, 2 and 3 reactors suffered meltdowns following a major earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Molten nuclear fuel fell down and solidified again to form debris in the reactors.

Extracting the extremely radioactive debris is thought to be the biggest challenge in the decommissioning process.

Tokyo Electric Power Company and the Japanese government plan to start removal work on the No.2 reactor as they have obtained the most detailed data from inside the unit.

TEPCO had originally planned to begin the work this year. But the company had to postpone it by about a year because the coronavirus pandemic delayed the development of a robot to be used in the operation.

The company says the robot completed testing procedures in Britain and will likely be delivered to Japan as early as next month.

The utility is now aiming to start removing debris from the No.2 reactor in 2022, after putting the robot through performance tests and giving its operators the necessary training.

Meanwhile, TEPCO says it wants to conduct a robotic survey on the interior of the No.1 reactor by the end of next March to get more data on debris in the unit.

Earlier this month, the company started work to cut and clear metal floor segments, electric cables and other objects that may hamper the robotic research.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210628_02/