The start of a very long process

November 7, 2013

Fukushima decommission at starting line

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20131107_03.html

The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant is preparing to take a key step towards decommissioning the nuclear reactors. It will start in mid-November to remove more than 1,500 fuel rods from one cooling pool.

The operation is the start of a long process expected to take 30 to 40 years.

Tokyo Electric Power Company personnel will begin at reactor no. 4. Its pool stores 1533 fuel units, most of which are highly radioactive spent rods.

TEPCO will also need to clear rods from pools at 3 other reactors in a worse state. Reactor no. 1's pool has 392 units, no. 2 has 615, and No. 3 has 566.

TEPCO officials hope to begin removing rods from those pools in about 2 years. They have been hampered by intense radiation and problems like inflow of rainwater.

They're anticipating a bigger challenge in removing molten fuel from reactor containers. TEPCO hopes to start that stage in 2020.

Workers are prevented by high radioactivity from fully studying the reactor interiors. They are attempting to use remote-control cameras.

TEPCO officials are seeking international cooperation to develop a machine that can remove the molten fuel, an operation never tried before.

The company is also facing other challenges including radioactive-water leakage into the sea and a lack of sufficient skilled workers.

Nov. 6, 2013 - Updated 20:49 UTC