TEPCO Reports Fukushima Reactor Debris Weighing 0.7 Grams in Latest Extraction; Piece Will Be Analyzed at Ibaraki Research Facility

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:05 JST, November 9, 2024

The small amount of nuclear fuel debris removed in experimental operations at the No. 2 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Thursday weighed approximately 0.7 grams, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. announced Friday.

The debris sample is set to be transported to a research facility in Ibaraki Prefecture, where it will be analyzed over a period of several months to a year. Researchers will examine its composition, hardness and other characteristics to help determine the methods and tools needed for more extensive retrieval efforts in the future.

It is the first time that debris has been taken out since the 2011 nuclear accident following the Great East Japan Earthquake. To protect workers from radiation exposure, it was decided that the piece of debris to be removed during this work had to be one weighing no more than 3 grams.