A robot in the suppression chamber of No.2

April 18, 2012

Robot to inspect No.2 reactor

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120418_03.html

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is to send a robot inside one of the reactors damaged by last year's earthquake and tsunami.

Tokyo Electric Power Company will use an 80-centimeter tall robot mounted with 5 cameras, a dosimeter and an audio recorder. On Wednesday, the robot will be sent through a door of the building housing the No.2 reactor to a scaffold built around the suppression chamber.

The robot will check for any damage to the suppression chamber and the containment vessel above. A worker in an adjacent building will maneuver the robot through a cable link.

This will be the first inspection of the suppression chamber by a robot since the nuclear accident.

The robot will also check an inspection manhole for the suppression chamber and take radiation measurements in the area.

Any damage to the suppression chamber and the containment vessel will have to be repaired before the vessel is filled with water to retrieve the melted fuel rods. The removal of these rods will be a crucial step in the decommissioning of the reactor.