News Thirteen years after meltdown, Fukushima nuclear cleanup reveals mysteries

[thomas]

As Japan approaches the 13th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Akira Ono, the head of decommissioning at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, is spearheading an effort to extract a sample from the radioactive debris within the plant's reactors. This sample is crucial for understanding the condition and location of the approximately 880 tons of melted nuclear fuel that remains a mystery since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown. Despite the challenges and delays, including a two-year setback in deploying a robotic arm to retrieve debris from the least damaged reactor, Ono likens the task to breaching a fortress's core, emphasising the mission's complexity and significance in ensuring safe removal and cleanup.

About 880 tons of highly radioactive melted nuclear fuel remains inside the three damaged reactors, but no one knows what condition the melted fuel is in or exactly where in the reactors it fell. That data is crucial to make a plan to remove it safely, said Ono. Since a 2019 robot probe first looked inside the No. 2 reactor — the least damaged — TEPCO has been trying to extract a small amount of melted debris using a robotic arm. That effort has been delayed for over two years as the team works to get the robot past the wreckage. Ono said the team's next attempt will come in October, using a previously tested device that resembles a fishing rod to get a preliminary sample out while waiting for technical improvements to the robotic arm. Last month, the plant flew its first drone into the worst-hit reactor, the No. 1 reactor, to investigate the melted debris. However, it had to cancel a second day of exploration after a secondary robot that helped with data transmission failed. "We are new to these things and sometimes encounter unanticipated mishaps on the ground. But they are all valuable lessons learned for our next steps," Ono said. Critics say the 30- to 40-year cleanup target set by the government and TEPCO is overly optimistic. The lack of data, technology, and plans on what to do with the fatally radioactive melted fuel and other nuclear waste at the end makes it difficult to understand how the plant complex and its surroundings may end up.

13 years after meltdown, the head of Japan's nuclear cleanup is probing mysteries inside reactors

A project to clean up the remains of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is preparing to remove damaged fuel debris from the plant’s reactors.

apnews.com

The government and TEPCO have indicated that decommissioning the Fukushima nuclear plant will be completed by 2051, 40 years after the accident. However, experts are sceptical of this target. "I think achieving that will be difficult," one expert said. Developing the technologies needed to recover the debris has also been challenging. Initially, TEPCO planned to conduct a test to remove a few grams of debris from a reactor in 2021. However, the completion of a 22-meter-long robotic arm has been delayed, and in January 2024, the removal plan was pushed back for a third time. TEPCO aims to conduct this operation by around October using a fishing rod-type device with a proven track record.

13 Years Since the Great East Japan Earthquake / Decommissioning of Fukushima Nuclear Plant in 40 Years Seems Doubtful; Three Mile Island Cleanup to Take Nearly 60 Years

<p>This is the fourth installment of a series that explores the current reality in areas affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.</p>

japannews.yomiuri.co.jp

 

[Petaris]

This is one of the reasons why I am not a fan of nuclear power. It's only clean if you ignore the radioactive waste, which is unfortunately what most power companies do by just shoving it somewhere to store it. It's only safe if you ignore the catastrophic accidents.