11 Years On: TEPCO to Begin Fukushima N-Fuel Debris Removal

Tokyo, March 4 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s <9501> unit for decommissioning the accident-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant hopes to begin removing nuclear fuel debris within 2022, the unit's president has said.

Akira Ono, president of Fukushima Daiichi Decontamination & Decommissioning Engineering Company, also said he will seek understanding from the public over plans to release treated low-level radioactive water from the plant into the Pacific.

The plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, experienced meltdowns at its No. 1 to No. 3 reactors after being struck by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.

In a recent interview, Ono said that his company did a good job preparing an investigation of the inside of the containment vessel of the No. 1 reactor. He added that it must work on human errors and other problems.

"Decommissioning is not possible without society's trust," he said. "Restoring trust is a very big task we must face."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]