Device Catches Nuclear Fuel Debris at TEPCO Fukushima Plant

Society

Tokyo, Oct. 31 (Jiji Press)--A device has caught a small amount of nuclear fuel debris during trial work to remove debris from a reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 plant, the company has said.

It is expected to take about a week to finish collecting the portion of debris. If the attempt ends in success, it will be the first time for nuclear fuel debris to be removed from any of the three reactors at the plant that experienced meltdowns following the March 2011 massive earthquake and tsunami.

On Wednesday, the trial work began just before 10 a.m. A claw-like tool attached to the tip of a telescopic collection device was lowered toward debris at the bottom of the containment vessel of the No. 2 reactor at the plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

The remotely operated device caught a small amount of debris at 10:30 a.m.

TEPCO plans to pull out the removal device from the containment vessel Thursday or later and put the debris in a transport container.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

Jiji Press