Tokyo Electrical Energy Firm Holdings, often known as TEPCO, the operator of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy plant, reveals a robotic for use to retrieve particles on the energy plant in Kobe, western Japan, Tuesday, Could 28, 2024. Credit score: Kyodo Information by way of AP
The operator of Japan’s destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy plant demonstrated Tuesday how a remote-controlled robotic would retrieve tiny bits of melted gas particles from considered one of three broken reactors later this 12 months for the primary time for the reason that 2011 meltdown.
Tokyo Electrical Energy Firm Holdings plans to deploy a “telesco-style” extendable pipe robotic into Fukushima Daiichi No. 2 reactor to check the elimination of particles from its major containment vessel by October.
That work is greater than two years not on time. The elimination of melted gas was supposed to start in late 2021 however has been plagued with delays, underscoring the problem of recovering from the magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami in 2011.
In the course of the demonstration on the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ shipyard in Kobe, western Japan, the place the robotic has been developed, a tool geared up with tongs slowly descended from the telescopic pipe to a heap of gravel and picked up a granule.
TEPCO plans to take away lower than 3 grams (0.1 ounce) of particles within the take a look at on the Fukushima plant.
“We believe the upcoming test removal of fuel debris from Unit 2 is an extremely important step to steadily carry out future decommissioning work,” mentioned Yusuke Nakagawa, a TEPCO group supervisor for the gas particles retrieval program. “It is important to proceed with the test removal safely and steadily.”
About 880 tons of extremely radioactive melted nuclear gas stay contained in the three broken reactors. Critics say the 30- to 40-year cleanup goal set by the federal government and TEPCO for Fukushima Daiichi is overly optimistic. The harm in every reactor is completely different, and plans should accommodate their circumstances.
Higher understanding the melted gas particles from contained in the reactors is vital to their decommissioning. TEPCO deployed 4 mini drones into the No. 1 reactor’s major containment vessel earlier this 12 months to seize pictures from the areas the place robots had not reached.
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A robotic will quickly attempt to take away melted nuclear gas from Japan’s destroyed Fukushima reactor (2024, Could 28)
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