Fuel Debris Removal Demonstration at Fukushima Facility Paves Way for Full-Scale Operation

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Fuel Debris Removal Demonstration at Fukushima Facility Paves Way for Full-Scale Operation

Workers demonstrate debris removal at Fukushima facility

Two days before the trial removal of debris from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, a facility in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture, was opened to the media. This facility will analyze the material extracted from the damaged reactor.

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) opened the laboratory on August 20th. It will examine the melted nuclear fuel debris from one of the Fukushima No. 1 plant's damaged reactors.

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 2011 earthquake and tsunami 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.