Photo of Fukushima Nuclear Debris Released; JAEA Says It Will Begin Analysis Soon

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:51 JST, November 14, 2024

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) on Wednesday released a photo of a small piece of nuclear fuel debris which was removed from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The debris, which was extracted by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. from the plant’s No. 2 reactor on Nov. 7, is about five millimeters in size and approximately 0.7 grams in weight. The debris was stored in a lead container and transported from the plant to the JAEA’s Oarai Nuclear Engineering Institute in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, within a sealed facility, a remotely operated device similar to a pair of tongs was used to remove the debris from its container. The JAEA said it planned to start analyzing the debris from Thursday.