Nothing "unusual" at Fukushima Daiichi

December 4, 2014

Cover put back over Fukushima reactor

Dec. 4, 2014 - Updated 08:57 UTC+1

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html

The operator of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says the temporary removal of part of the cover of a reactor building over the past month did not cause a significant rise in radiation levels nearby.

Tokyo Electric Power Company used a remote-controlled crane to put 2 of the 6 panels from the ceiling of the No.1 reactor building back in place on Thursday.

TEPCO removed them in late October and early November to see if this would cause radioactive substances from the debris inside the building to drift out into the environment. Before starting the work, it injected chemicals through openings made in the cover to prevent dust from spreading.

The debris was left by a hydrogen explosion in the 2011 nuclear accident.

TEPCO says no monitoring device within the plant compound detected anything unusual over the past month.

The work was part of preparations for taking nuclear fuel out of a spent fuel storage pool, starting in 2019.

TEPCO says it hopes to start dismantling the ceiling in March, and start clearing the debris in 2016.