Debris extracted from Fukushima nuclear plant revealed to media
Friday, Feb. 21, https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250221_08/?fbclid=IwY2xjawInSAlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSRSw2PSosgQ6p28ndBqzler46N1Sr9mAHZH_X5SQL5hfjsJ5Tr3M48JTg_aem_xXho8cY6EkFQUvxp6aOcZQNuclear fuel debris that was extracted from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant last year has been revealed to reporters for the first time.
The debris taken from the plant’s No.2 reactor consists of molten fuel mixed with surrounding structural components. The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, successfully retrieved 0.7 grams of the material in its first test extraction operation through November last year.
The debris was first transferred to a research facility of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency in Oarai Town, Ibaraki Prefecture, for the initial analysis, including surface observation.
The researchers then split the debris into smaller pieces to be examined at five research facilities, including a large one in Hyogo Prefecture.
Reporters were given the opportunity to observe the samples, which were placed in two separate transparent containers at a facility in Ibaraki Prefecture. One container held a particle about 2 millimeters in size that appeared silver, while the other had multiple dark fragments.
So far, the researchers have detected uranium, which is contained in nuclear fuel, on the surface of the debris, as well as metals such as iron, which are believed to have come from the reactor’s structure.
The researchers plan to examine the characteristics of the debris, including its hardness and adhesiveness. They will also expose the samples to lasers to determine whether the uranium inside is prone to triggering a nuclear fission reaction.
The agency says it will use these analyses to evaluate potential methods for full-scale extraction of the debris, and to determine the risk of a renewed criticality event, in which a self-sustaining chain reaction could occur.
The agency plans to release the findings of the major analyses in the middle of this year.
Ogino Hideki, the chief engineer at the agency’s Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science, spoke to the reporters.
He said it is difficult to fully grasp the overall characteristics of the debris based on the ongoing analyses alone. But he expressed his commitment to contributing to the decommissioning efforts through analyzing the samples using the technology that he and his fellow researchers have developed.
It is estimated that there is a total of around 880 tons of fuel debris in the No. 1, 2 and 3 reactors.
Japan to pick final disposal sites for Fukushima soil around 2030
The Environment Ministry plans to decide around 2030 or later where to finally dispose of soil removed from the ground during decontamination work after the March 2011 disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, it was learned Wednesday.
The plan was included in a draft timetable for the final disposal of such soil outside Fukushima Prefecture by March 2045, presented by the ministry at a meeting of a related expert panel on the day. The ministry will consider a process for selecting final disposal sites from fiscal 2025.
As of the end of December, about 14 million cubic meters of such soil had been transported to an interim storage facility straddling the Fukushima towns of Okuma and Futaba.
Three-quarters of the soil had radiation concentrations of 8,000 becquerels per kilogram or less and will be reused in public works, while the rest will be subject to final disposal.
Final disposal sites are estimated to require up to 50 hectares if the volume of the soil is not reduced, or 2 to 3 hectares if the volume is reduced. Meanwhile, radiation levels would be higher in the reduced soil.
The government is slated to draw up a basic plan as early as this spring for reusing some of the soil and finally disposing of the rest.
TEPCO takes on challenge of making space for Fukushima nuclear debris
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Japan) (AFP) – Workers at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant have started dismantling water storage tanks to free up space for tonnes of nuclear debris, 14 years after the facility was hit by a devastating tsunami.…………………….
France24 15th Feb 2025, https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250215-tepco-takes-on-challenge-of-making-space-for-fukushima-nuclear-debris
40% of workers cite radiation concerns at Fukushima plant
By KEITARO FUKUCHI/ Asahi Shimbun, Staff Writer, February 2, 2025
Forty percent of the workforce at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant worry about radiation issues on the job, a nearly three-fold spike over the previous year, a survey found.
More than half of those respondents cited fears of their body coming into contact with a radioactive substance.
Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant operator that conducted the annual survey, said recent incidents at the plant probably contributed to the heightened concerns.
For example, two workers were hospitalized in October 2023 after they were accidentally splashed with waste liquid containing highly radioactive substances while cleaning piping in a contaminated water treatment facility.
The survey was carried out between September and October to improve the working environment. TEPCO distributed a questionnaire to all workers at the plant and received responses from 5,498 individuals, or 94.5 percent……………………….
Asked to choose specific issues they were concerned about, 52.2 percent, the largest percentage, picked “physical contamination,” up about seven points from 2023.
In another incident, about 1.5 tons of contaminated water flowed out of a water purification facility at the plant through an air exhaust opening in February 2024…… more https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15609878
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
Tepco eyes second test removal of Fukushima nuclear fuel debris
Japan Times 29th Nov 2024, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11/29/japan/tepco-debris-removal-plan/
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings is considering conducting a second test to remove nuclear fuel debris from one of the three meltdown-hit reactors at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, company officials said Thursday.
As in the previous test, Tepco plans to use a fishing rod-shaped device to remove the debris from the plant’s No. 2 reactor.
Tepco collected 0.7 gram of debris in the first test, which started in September and ended on Nov. 7. The debris is currently under analysis at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.
Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairperson Shinsuke Yamanaka has asked the company to collect more debris to gather more data.
Some 880 tons of nuclear debris, a mixture of melted fuel and reactor parts, is estimated to remain in the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 reactors at the plant, which was crippled by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
Nuclear debris retrieved from Fukushima reactor weighs 0.7 gram, (Just 880 tons to go)
Japan Times 9th Nov 2024
The nuclear fuel debris collected on a trial basis from a crippled reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station weighs 0.7 gram, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said Friday.
The collected substance will be analyzed at four facilities, including the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, for research toward full-scale extraction of nuclear fuel debris from reactors at the Tepco plant in Fukushima Prefecture…………………..
The company plans to spend the next few days preparing for the transportation of the fuel debris to the four facilities.
The four facilities will share the nuclear fuel debris and analyze its components and hardness over several months to a year.
TEPCO collected the debris from the No. 2 reactor Thursday, about two months after the trial work was launched Sept. 10. It was the first time that fuel debris has been removed from a damaged reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
A total of about 880 tons of nuclear debris, a mixture of melted fuel and reactor parts, is believed to remain in the No. 1 to No. 3 reactors………
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11/09/japan/fukushima-tepco-nuclear-debris/
Tepco removes [a tiny sceric]of nuclear fuel debris from Fukushima disaster site
The whole process is expected to cost around ¥23 trillion ($149 billion) and take decades to complete. About 880 tons of radioactive material, like melted fuel and metal cladding, are said to be stuck at the bottom of the three reactors at the plant.
By Shoko Oda, Bloomberg, Japan Times 7th Nov 2024
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11/07/japan/tepco-debris-removal-demonstration/
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings says it has removed nuclear fuel debris left inside a reactor in a demonstration at its Fukushima No. 1 power plant, 13 years after a meltdown there.
Radioactive debris was removed from the Unit 2 reactor at the plant and was placed inside a sealed container for transportation, the power producer said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
The demonstration is part of Tepco’s cleanup plan for the site, after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami overwhelmed the facility and led to the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. The whole process is expected to cost around ¥23 trillion ($149 billion) and take decades to complete. About 880 tons of radioactive material, like melted fuel and metal cladding, are said to be stuck at the bottom of the three reactors at the plant.
Tepco, which is decommissioning the plant alongside the government, is using a robotic arm that looks like a fishing rod with a claw grip to remove a small sample of the nuclear debris. The company had planned to remove just 3 grams as part of the demonstration.
The removed debris is set to be transported to Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s research facility for analysis, according to Tepco’s website.
The retrieval process began in September but faced challenges. A camera attached to the robotic arm stopped working, forcing Tepco to suspend the demonstration to replace the camera.
Robot Removes First Bit Of Fukushima’s Nuclear Fuel Debris – Just 880 Tons More To Go
The radioactive ruins are still far too dangerous for humans.
Tom Hale, IFL Science 6th Nov 2024, https://www.iflscience.com/robot-removes-first-bit-of-fukushimas-nuclear-fuel-debris-just-880-tons-more-to-go-76669
robot has delved into the radioactive ruins of Fukushima to retrieve a tiny chunk of spent nuclear fuel. It’s the first time solid fuel debris has been removed from the plant – but they’ve still got a hell of a long way to go: 880 tons of the stuff to be precise.
The remotely operated robotic arm, equipped with a telescopic camera, was able to grasp and retrieve a “small amount of fuel debris” from the floor of Unit 2’s reactor on October 30, according to the plant’s operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO).
“From the results of primary containment vessel internal investigations, we have deduced that the accumulated debris on the surface of the floor inside the pedestal is solidified molten material that consists of fuel elements and also may contain a lot of metal,” TEPCO said in a statement.
The fuel debris will now be taken away from the Fukushima site where scientists will analyze it to gain further insight into how to remove the rest of the debris.
“By analyzing the attributes of the sampled fuel debris we will directly ascertain information such as the composition of debris at the sampling location and radioactivity density,” added TEPCO……………………………………………………………..
It’s estimated that the three impacted reactors contain an estimated total of 880 tons of melted fuel debris, all of which TEPCO hopes to remove during their decommissioning effort by the year 2031. The latest retrieval of a small chunk of radioactive debris is just the beginning of the mammoth feat ahead.
Along with solid debris, the decommissioning project has also had to deal with the colossal quantities of radioactive water that accumulated after being used to cool the damaged reactor cores. In August 2023, Japan began releasing some of the treated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, much to the annoyance of their neighbors.
TEPCO has expressed hope the entire clean-up operation will be completed in 30 to 40 years, although some speculate the target is overly optimistic.
Senior Journalist
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The global nuclear industry has no idea how to decommission Fukushima nuclear plant, but hopes that a tiny robot might help
Robot retrieves radioactive fuel sample from Fukushima nuclear reactor site
Plant’s owners hope analysis of tiny sample will help to establish how to safely decommission facility
Kevin Rawlinson and agency, Sun 3 Nov 2024
A piece of the radioactive fuel left from the meltdown of Japan’s tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been retrieved from the site using a remote-controlled robot.
Investigators used the robot’s fishing-rod-like arm to clip and collect a tiny piece of radioactive material from one of the plant’s three damaged reactors – the first time such a feat has been achieved. Should it prove suitable for testing, scientists hope the sample will yield information that will help determine how to decommission the plant.
The plant’s manager, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco), has said the sample was collected from the surface of a mound of molten debris that sits at the bottom of the Unit 2 reactor’s primary containment vessel.
The “telesco” robot, with its frontal tongs still holding the sample, returned to its enclosed container for safe storage after workers in full hazmat gear pulled it out of the containment vessel on Saturday. But the mission is not over until it is certain the sample’s radioactivity is below a set standard and it is safely contained.
If the radioactivity exceeds the safety limit then the robot must return to find another piece, but Tepco officials have said they expect the sample will prove to be small enough.
The mission started in September and was supposed to last two weeks, but had to be suspended twice.
A procedural mistake held up work for nearly three weeks. Then the robot’s two cameras, designed to transmit views of the target areas for its operators in the remote control room, failed. That required the robot to be pulled out entirely for replacement before the mission resumed on Monday.
Fukushima Daiichi lost its cooling systems during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, causing meltdowns in three of its reactors. An estimated 880 tons of fuel remains in them, and Tepco has carried out several robotic operations.
Tepco said that on Wednesday the robot successfully clipped a piece estimated to weigh about 3 grams from the area underneath the Unit 2 reactor core, from which large amounts of melted fuel fell during the meltdown 13 years ago.
The plant’s chief, Akira Ono, said only the tiny sample can provide crucial data to help plan a decommissioning strategy, develop necessary technology and robots and retroactively establish exactly how the accident had developed.
The Japanese government and Tepco have set a target of between 30 and 40 years for the cleanup, which experts say is optimistic. No specific plan for the full removal of the fuel debris or its final disposal has been decided.
A small amount of nuclear fuel debris retrieved at Tepco Fukushima plant
Japan Times 31st Oct 2024
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/10/31/japan/fukushima-debris-catch/
A device has retrieved a small amount of nuclear fuel debris during trial work to remove debris from a reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ Fukushima No. 1 plant, the company has said.
It is expected to take about a week to finish collecting the portion of debris.
If successful, it will be the first time for nuclear fuel debris to be removed from any of the three reactors at the plant that experienced meltdowns following the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
The trial work began just before 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
A claw-like tool attached to the tip of a telescopic collection device was lowered toward debris at the bottom of the containment vessel of the No. 2 reactor at the plant in Fukushima Prefecture.
The remotely operated device retrieved a small amount of debris at 10:30 a.m.
Tepco was set to pull out the removal device from the containment vessel Thursday or later and put the debris in a transport container.
If radiation levels are higher than expected, the debris may be put back into the containment vessel to avoid workers being exposed to radiation.
If they are not higher than expected, however, the collected debris will be analyzed at a facility of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.
About 880 tons of nuclear fuel debris are believed to sit inside the meltdown-stricken No. 1 to No. 3 reactors.
Removing the debris is viewed as the most difficult part of the process of decommissioning the Fukushima plant.
Tepco initially planned to begin the removal work in 2021.
It started in September this year about three years behind schedule due chiefly to delays in the development of the device and problems with preparing for the work.
Japan to resume trial removal of Fukushima nuclear debris, reports say
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/10/25/japan/fukushima-debris-removal/
The operator of the tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant will resume an operation to remove a sample of highly radioactive material next week, reports said Friday, after having suspended the effort over a technical snag.
Extracting the estimated 880 tons of highly radioactive fuel and debris inside the former power station remains the most challenging part of decommissioning the facility, which was hit by a catastrophic tsunami in 2011.
Radioactivity levels inside are far too high for humans to enter, and last month engineers began inserting an extendable device to try and remove a small sample.
However, operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings had to halt the procedure after noticing that remote cameras on the apparatus were not beaming back images to the control center.
Tepco on Friday said it would resume the removal on Monday after replacing the cameras with new ones, the Asahi Shimbun daily and other local media reported.
Tepco officials could not immediately be reached to confirm the reports.
Three of Fukushima’s six reactors went into meltdown after a tsunami triggered by the nation’s biggest earthquake on record swamped the facility in one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents.
Japan last year began releasing into the Pacific Ocean some of the 540 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of reactor cooling water amassed since the catastrophe.
China and Russia banned Japanese seafood imports as a result, although Tokyo insists the discharge is safe, a view backed by the U.N. atomic agency.
Beijing last month said it would “gradually resume” importing seafood from Japan after imposing the blanket ban.
In a Tepco initiative to promote food from the Fukushima area, swanky London department store Harrods began selling peaches grown in the region last month.
TEPCO again halts work to collect melted nuclear fuel
By KEITARO FUKUCHI/ Staff Writer, September 17, 2024
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15429866
Once again, Tokyo Electric Power Co. has been forced to halt its project to collect melted nuclear fuel debris at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
On Sept. 17, TEPCO could not confirm camera images of equipment being used to remove the debris from the No. 2 reactor of the plant, bringing a stop to the project, the utility said.
TEPCO had planned to pick up melted fuel debris from the bottom of the reactor’s containment vessel that day.
The cause of the problem is under investigation, and there are no prospects of soon resuming the fuel-collecting operation, TEPCO said.
The company had earlier planned to start the fuel-removal work on Aug. 22. But the project was suspended after it was discovered that equipment for the operation had been installed in an incorrect order.
The work resumed on Sept. 10 after TEPCO took measures to prevent a recurrence.
After the fuel-removal device was pushed inside the reactor containment vessel, TEPCO checked the operation of the camera on the tip of the device. It was working on Sept. 13.
Workers had been checking the equipment from the morning of Sept. 17.
But a glitch occurred in the remote control room, about 400 meters away from the site, and the camera images could not be checked, the utility said.
Because of this, workers were unable to pick up the fuel debris.
TEPCO restarts debris extraction attempt at Fukushima plant
KYODO NEWS – https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/09/35e573ef1ad3-urgent-tepco-restarts-debris-extraction-attempt-at-fukushima-plant.html
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex restarted Tuesday a bid to retrieve a small amount of melted fuel from one of its stricken reactors after its first attempt last month was suspended due to setup complications.
The trial extraction was put on hold on Aug. 22 due to issues discovered during preparations, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.
The resumption comes after TEPCO confirmed that five pipes set to be used to insert a retrieval device into the No. 2 reactor’s containment vessel are now installed in the correct order.
TEPCO said earlier that it and contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. failed to check the order in which the pipes were set up, causing the earlier issues.
There are an estimated 880 tons of fuel debris in the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 reactors.
The task of retrieving melted fuel remains a serious challenge in the decades-long decommissioning plan for the Fukushima Daiichi complex, which was damaged following a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
A robot resumes mission to retrieve a piece of melted fuel from inside a damaged Fukushima reactor
The goal of the operation is to bring back less than 3 grams (0.1 ounce) of an estimated 880 tons of fatally radioactive molten fuel that remain in three reactors.
An operation to send an extendable robot into one of three damaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to bring back a tiny gravel of melted fuel debris has resumed, nearly three weeks after its earlier attempt was suspended due to a tech…
By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press, September 10, 2024, https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/robot-resumes-mission-retrieve-piece-melted-fuel-inside-113538057
An extendable robot on Tuesday resumed its entry into one of three damaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to retrieve a fragment of melted fuel debris, nearly three weeks after its earlier attempt was suspended due to a technical issue.
The collection of a tiny sample of the spent fuel debris from inside of the Unit 2 reactor marks the start of the most challenging part of the decadeslong decommissioning of the plant where three reactors were destroyed in the March 11, 2011, magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami disaster.
The sample-return mission, initially scheduled to begin on Aug. 22, was suspended when workers noticed that a set of five 1.5-meter (5-foot) add-on pipes to push in and maneuver the robot were in the wrong order and could not be corrected within the time limit for their radiation exposure, the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said.
The pipes were to be used to push the robot inside and pull it back out when it finished. Once inside the vessel, the robot is operated remotely from a safer location.
The robot, nicknamed “telesco,” can extend up to about 22 meters (72 feet), including the pipes pushing it from behind, to reach its target area to collect a fragment from the surface of the melted fuel mound using a device equipped with tongs that hang from the of the robot.
The mission to obtain the fragment and return with it is to last about two weeks.
The mix-up, which TEPCO called a “basic mistake,” triggered disappointment and raised concerns from officials and local residents. Industry Minister Ken Saito ordered TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa a thorough investigation of the cause and preventive steps before resuming the mission.
The pipes were brought into the Unit 2 reactor building and pre-arranged at the end of July by workers from the robot’s prime contractor and its subsidiary, but their final status was never checked until the problem was found.
TEPCO concluded the mishap was caused by a lack of attention, checking and communication between the operator and workers on the ground. By Monday, the equipment was reassembled in the right order and ready for a retrial, the company said.
The goal of the operation is to bring back less than 3 grams (0.1 ounce) of an estimated 880 tons of fatally radioactive molten fuel that remain in three reactors. The small sample will provide key data to develop future decommissioning methods and necessary technology and robots, experts say.
The government and TEPCO are sticking to a 30 to 40-year cleanup target set soon after the meltdown, despite criticism it is unrealistic. No specific plans for the full removal of the melted fuel debris or its storage have been decided.
1 This Month.
Let’s keep radioactive waste away from our river!
Nuclear Power? -Never again
(Switzerland –https://www.greenpeace.ch/de/handeln/atomkraft-nie-wieder/+)
PETITION – Close Down the Monticello Nuclear Reactor on the Mississippi River!
Now until to February 10, 2026 Radioactive waste storage in France: the debate is finally open! How to participate?
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