nuclear-news

Second Fukushima nuclear sample removal eyed for March

CNA 26th Dec 2024

Three of Fukushima’s six reactors went into meltdown in 2011 after a huge tsunami swamped the facility.

TOKYO: The operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant said on Thursday (Dec 26) it will start the second round of a tricky operation to collect samples of radioactive debris from the site this spring.

Around 880 tonnes of hazardous material remain at the Fukushima site, 13 years after a catastrophic tsunami caused by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered one of history’s worst nuclear accidents.

Removing the debris is seen as the most daunting challenge in a decommissioning project due to last decades, because of the dangerously high radiation levels.

Last month, operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said a trial debris removal operation using a specially developed extendible device had been completed.

The sample weighing just below 0.7g – equivalent to about one raisin – was delivered to a research lab near Tokyo for analysis.

A TEPCO official told a press conference they are now gearing up for a second sample removal due in “March to April”……….
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/fukushima-nuclear-plant-sample-removal-march-2025-4826701

December 28, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima continuing