TEPCO finally starts recovering nuclear fuel after long delays

Tokyo Electric Power Co. has announced that it has successfully begun the recovery of melted nuclear fuel from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the first step in the project to remove radioactive debris.

On October 30, TEPCO engineers used a remote-controlled robotic crane to retrieve a piece of fuel waste from the plant’s No. 2 reactor.

The extracted piece, estimated to weigh less than 3 grams, will be removed from the reactor in the coming days before being sent to a laboratory in Ibaraki Prefecture for detailed analysis.

If successful, it will be the first time molten nuclear fuel has been recovered from the plant since the devastating 2011 accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

TEPCO will use the analysis results to determine how to recover an estimated 880 tons of debris that has accumulated in the plant’s No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 reactors.

Removing the highly radioactive debris is the biggest challenge in the lengthy decommissioning process of the plant, which is estimated to take decades.

The crane device from the latest operation reaches up to 22 meters and is equipped with two cameras and a grab.

The operation was originally scheduled to begin in 2021 but was delayed due to technical issues with another robotic arm designed for the project. This arm was eventually replaced by the crane now in use.

Even after the project resumed in August, repeated technical glitches further delayed the schedule.

The most recent setback involved defective cameras on the crane. Although the replacement cameras are functioning properly, the cause of the initial problems has yet to be determined.