JAEA Shows Off Fukushima N-Plant Debris Analysis Equipment; Holds Demonstration of Remote Controlled Machinery

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, August 22, 2024

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) on Tuesday demonstrated to the press its equipment for analyzing radioactive fuel debris, in advance of the planned start of retrieval of pieces of melted nuclear fuel from the No. 2 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO) plans to begin removal on a test basis of debris from the melted nuclear fuel in the reactor.

The JAEA’s equipment is located at its Fuels Monitoring Facility (FMF) in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture.

TEPCO is scheduled to begin retrieving debris from the reactor on Thursday. The company plans to remove up to three grams of debris and transport it to the FMF.

On Tuesday, a JAEA official stood in front of the equipment, which is sealed to prevent radiation from escaping, as he remotely manipulated a device similar to a pair of tongs inside the machine.

In actual operations, the device will pinch a piece of debris, another device will cut it away, and researchers will examine the piece with an electronic microscope.

The JAEA aims to compile the results of its analysis by the end of this fiscal year.