nuclear-news

Specialised device tried to recover melted fuel at Fukushima plant

By FUMI YADA/ Staff Writer, June 19, 2024 [includes VIDEO] , Asahi Shimbun

KOBE–A specialized device resembling a fishing rod will be used to “hook” tiny bits of melted nuclear fuel debris from one of three damaged reactors at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the work is expected to begin no later than October and will be done on a trial basis.

The equipment was shown to reporters on May 28.

The removal of melted fuel is regarded as the trickiest phase of decommissioning work, because the wrecked facility is still plagued by extremely high levels of radiation.

TEPCO plans to remove a few grams of melted nuclear fuel from the No. 2 reactor because radiation levels there are relatively low.

An extendable pipe to be used for the delicate maneuver was demonstrated at a facility in Kobe operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

Designed like a fishing pole, the 22-meter-long device was inserted into a model of the pedestal to support the reactor’s pressure vessel.

The aim was to ascertain whether pebbles representing fuel debris could be grasped with the claw-like arm……………………more https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15288064

June 21, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima continuing