A difficult operation to remove a small amount of radioactive debris from Japan’s stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant began yesterday, after technical issues suspended an earlier attempt.
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) in a statement said that its “pilot extraction operation” had started.
It would take about two weeks, the company said.
Photo: Tokyo Electric Power Co via AP
The tiny sample would be studied for clues about conditions inside the reactors — a crucial step toward decommissioning the nuclear power plant.
About 880 tonnes of extremely hazardous material remain 13 years after a tsunami caused by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents.
Removing the debris from the reactors is regarded as the most daunting challenge in the decades-long decommissioning project.
“The government would like to urge TEPCO to respond with an even higher sense of urgency as we enter the most difficult work phase, which will be the basis for decommissioning the plant,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters yesterday.
TEPCO originally planned to start its first trial removal on Aug. 22, aiming to collect just 3g for analysis — if the extraction process was successful — but the company had to stop the work at a preliminary stage after detecting a problem involving the installation of the necessary equipment.
Three of the plant’s six reactors were operating when the tsunami hit on March 11, 2011, sending them into meltdown.
The debris within has radiation levels so high that TEPCO had to develop specialized robots able to function inside.
TEPCO deployed two mini-drones and a “snake-shaped robot” into one of the three nuclear reactors in February, as part of the preparations for the removal task.
Separately, last year Japan began releasing treated wastewater from the plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking a diplomatic row with China and Russia. Both nations have banned Japanese seafood imports, although Tokyo insists the discharge is safe, a view backed by the UN atomic agency.
Meanwhile, in a TEPCO initiative to promote food from the Fukushima area, swanky London department store Harrods on Saturday began selling peaches that were grown in the region.
Fukushima peaches are renowned for their juicy, sweet taste — but they are not cheap, with one box of three reportedly going for ￡80 (US$105).
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