Robotic to Take away Melted Nuclear Gasoline From Japan’s Broken Fukushima Reactor – Cyber Tech

The operator of Japan’s destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy plant demonstrated Tuesday how a remote-controlled robotic would retrieve tiny bits of melted gas particles from one in all three broken reactors later this 12 months for the primary time because the 2011 meltdown.

Tokyo Electrical Energy Co. Holdings plans to deploy a “telesco-style” extendable pipe robotic into Fukushima Daiichi No. 2 reactor to check the elimination of particles from its major containment vessel by October.

That work is greater than two years delayed. The elimination of melted gas was supposed to start in late 2021 however has been plagued with delays, underscoring the issue of recovering from the magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami in 2011.

Through the demonstration on the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ shipyard in Kobe, western Japan, the place the robotic has been developed, a tool outfitted with tongs slowly descended from the telescopic pipe to a heap of gravel and picked up a granule.

TEPCO plans to take away lower than 3 grams (0.1 ounce) of particles within the take a look at on the Fukushima plant.

“We imagine the upcoming take a look at elimination of gas particles from Unit 2 is a particularly essential step to steadily perform future decommissioning work,” stated Yusuke Nakagawa, a TEPCO group supervisor for the gas particles retrieval program. “You will need to proceed with the take a look at elimination safely and steadily.”

About 880 tons of extremely radioactive melted nuclear gas stay contained in the three broken reactors. Critics say the 30- to 40-year cleanup goal set by the federal government and TEPCO for Fukushima Daiichi is overly optimistic. The injury in every reactor is completely different, and plans should accommodate their situations.

Higher understanding the melted gas particles from contained in the reactors is essential to their decommissioning. TEPCO deployed 4 mini drones into the No. 1 reactor’s major containment vessel earlier this 12 months to seize pictures from the areas the place robots had not reached.

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AP video journalist Ayaka McGill contributed to this report.

{Photograph}: Tokyo Electrical Energy Firm Holdings, also referred to as TEPCO, the operator of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy plant, reveals a robotic for use to retrieve particles on the energy plant in Kobe, western Japan, Tuesday, Might 28, 2024. (Kyodo Information through AP)

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