Fukushima Operator Starts 1st Since 2011 Disaster Contact With Nuke Fuel Debris - Reports

Fukushima Operator Starts 1st Since 2011 Disaster Contact With Nuke Fuel Debris - Reports

Japanese energy giant Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP), started the first since the 2011 nuclear disaster at the facility contacts with the molten nuclear fuel debris that remain on the floor of the containment vessel of the second reactor of the NPP, local media reported on Wednesday

TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th February, 2019) Japanese energy giant Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP), started the first since the 2011 nuclear disaster at the facility contacts with the molten nuclear fuel debris that remain on the floor of the containment vessel of the second reactor of the NPP, local media reported on Wednesday.

According to Japanese newspaper Mainichi, TEPCO started the experiment shortly after 7 a.m. local time (22:00 on Tuesday GMT) by placing a remotely operated device that will lift the debris and check their status, using a special pipe, the length of which can reach up to 15 meters (49 feet). The device is capable of holding objects that weigh up to 2 kilograms (4.4 Pounds).

Throughout the experiment, the molten debris will remain inside the reactor.

TEPCO is expected to reveal the results of the experiment later in the day.

The Japanese government and TEPCO seek to select the first Fukishima NPP reactor from which molten nuclear fuel remains will be extracted, before the end of fiscal year 2018.

The Fukushima disaster took place in March 2011, as an earthquake triggered a tsunami and hit the NPP, leading to the leakage of radioactive materials and the shutdown of the plant. A total of three reactors were operating at the power plant before the incident.