Tepco To Launch First Probe Of Reactor Core At Fukushima Plant Within 3 Years
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it will launch a probe of the inside of the pressure vessel of a reactor within three years. It will be the first survey of a reactor core, where heat is generated.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, is seeking to decommission the plant, whose No.1 to 3 reactors experienced meltdowns after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
One of the biggest challenges in the process is the removal of radioactive fuel debris from the reactors. The debris is a mixture of molten nuclear fuel and pieces of metal structures. It still emits extremely high levels of radiation.
TEPCO believes fuel debris exists inside the pressure vessels that cover the reactor cores and at the bottom of structures called containment vessels that enclose them.
TEPCO's survey on fuel debris has progressed at the No.2 reactor more than at the other two. Workers aim to remove several grams of the debris from the bottom of its containment vessel this year.
They also plan to send cameras or robots inside its pressure vessel to get their first glance at the reactor core in fiscal 2024.
Progress is slowest at the No.1 reactor. The company spotted what it believes to be fuel debris there in February. But the company has been forced to suspend its survey following an earthquake in mid-March as well as malfunctioning of a robot camera.
Japan's government and TEPCO are maintaining their initial schedule of dismantling the plant by 2051.