nuclear-news

Inspection of Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 Spent Fuel Pool’s Damage

December 6, 2021

TEPCO reported in late November on some ongoing work to inspect the remaining fuel and equipment in the Unit 3 spent fuel pool. Work took place between July and October of 2021. Part of this work included equipment in the pool classified as high radiation. This included used control rods and other high radiation equipment such as used filter canisters.

The inspection found a damaged control rod lying across a fuel rack, two damaged control rods hung in the wall rack, and damage to the rack itself. Two “dummy” fuel assemblies have damaged lifting handles and six lifting tabs on the fuel racks were damaged. Sandy debris and rust were found at the bottom of the pool, causing difficulty in examining the used filters stored in the pool.

TEPCO wasn’t able to obtain clear radiation readings due to the depth of the debris in the bottom of the pool. The highest location they were able to take a reading was near the control rod found lying across the fuel rack. That reading was 265 mSv/h. TEPCO planned to begin removing debris from the fuel rack in November of 2021. Work to remove the control rods and high-dose equipment would begin in mid-2022.

A translated version of the TEPCO report can be found here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z3wn2ie2y2davn3/spent_fuel_d211125_08-j_u3_translated.pdf?dl=0

The original report in Japanese can be found here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s1kgdpexcbxeclm/spent_fuel_d211125_08-j.pdf?dl=0

December 7, 2021 - Posted by dunrenard | Fukushima 2021 | Fukushima Daiichi, Spent fuel Pool, Unit 3