TOKYO, August 22. /TASS/. Japanese specialists have launched a trial effort to remove melted nuclear fuel from Unit 2 of the wrecked Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant, but had to halt it shortly after the start, the plant’s operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said.
The effort was expected to take about a week, but was stopped hours after being launched due to problems while installing the required equipment. It is yet unknown when the procedure will be resumed.
This was supposed to be the first experimental work of its kind since the 2011 nuclear meltdown at the facility. In line with the plan, special equipment was to move into the reactor’s container vessel via a special pipe. As a result of the operation, TEPCO planned to obtain samples of nuclear fuel, which melted together with damaged steel fragments and other elements inside the crippled reactor.
The samples were expected to give Japanese specialists more information about the nuclear fuel debris. Specialists planned to use a telescopic-type device that resembles a fishing rod in order to obtain a tiny piece of nuclear fuel debris weighting several grams.
Later, a more sophisticated piece of equipment - namely, a robotic hand equipped with cameras and sensors - was expected to be used to extract more elements from the melted reactor core.
The experimental removal was originally scheduled to begin in 2021, but it was postponed due to technical difficulties, including delays in equipment production caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The plant’s reactors are estimated to hold about 880 metric tons of nuclear debris in total.
The nuclear disaster at the Fukushima-1 NPP in 2011 was triggered by an earthquake-induced tsunami that devastated the emergency generators which provide power to cool the reactors. This led to three nuclear meltdowns, hydrogen explosions and a massive release of radioactive material, which contaminated the surrounding area. Plans call for fully decommissioning the nuclear facility by 2050.