nuclear – The operation aims to remove radioactive debris trapped in the reactors of the plant damaged in 2011
The delicate operation began this Tuesday morning. An attempt to remove a sample of highly radioactive debris trapped in the reactors was launched within the Japanese nuclear power plant of Fukushima, which was damaged in 2011, announced the Japanese operator Tepco.
Using a probe equipped with a robotic arm, Tepco is seeking to recover a tiny quantity (three grams) of the approximately 880 tonnes of radioactive debris found inside the reactors of the nuclear power plant hit by the devastating tsunami of 2011, in order to analyse it and decide what to do next.
The maneuver, which should last about two weeks according to Tepco, was initially due to begin on August 22 but was suspended after a technical problem.
The work is expected to last several decades.
Three of Fukushima’s six reactors were operating when a tsunami struck the plant on March 11, 2011, melting the cooling systems and causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. The debris has radiation levels so high that the operator had to develop specialized robots capable of withstanding it to work inside.
This attempt is the most delicate stage of the highly anticipated decontamination and dismantling work, which(…) - 20minutes
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