JAEA Opens Facility to Analyze Fukushima Nuclear Debris
Two days before the trial removal of debris from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) opened a facility in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture, to analyze the material. This facility will examine the melted nuclear fuel debris from one of the damaged reactors at the plant.
The laboratory will use X-ray analysis equipment and an electron microscope to analyze the structure and properties of the debris. This research aims to understand the reactor's condition at the time of the accident caused by the massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 and assess the possibility of criticality.
Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant's operator, plans to remove a few grams of debris from the No. 2 reactor. The removed debris will be transported in a container designed to shield high levels of radiation. Workers will use remote-controlled devices to take the debris out of the container and analyze it while monitoring the process through a glass window.
The JAEA aims to compile the analysis results by the end of the fiscal year. "Even though the analysis involves only a small amount, we believe it will provide data that can depict the conditions inside the reactor," said Hideki Ogino, chief engineer at the JAEA's Fukushima Research and Engineering Institute. "We would like to contribute to the decommissioning of the reactors through further analysis," he added.
The JAEA plans to utilize the analysis to shape future plans for full-scale debris removal.