TEPCO delays removal of No1. temporary cover

September 12, 2016

TEPCO postpones cover removing work

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160912_12/

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has postponed work to remove a temporary cover from a damaged reactor building due to strong winds.

Tokyo Electric Power Company installed the cover on the partially collapsed No. 1 reactor building after the 2011 nuclear accident to prevent the spread of radioactive materials.

TEPCO spent 3 months from July of last year removing the top part of the cover. It then surveyed the upper sections of the building in preparation for the retrieval of spent nuclear fuel from a storage pool on the top floor.

The utility initially planned to begin removing the sides of the cover on Monday, but it now hopes to begin on Tuesday or later.

TEPCO officials say they expect the work to be completed by late November.

They say workers are spraying chemical agents and taking other steps to prevent the spread of radioactive dust.

TEPCO intends to conduct an inspection of the debris piled on the top floor and then start retrieving spent nuclear fuel in 2020.

It plans to begin removing the molten fuel at the No. 1 to No. 3 reactors by 2021.