The Asian Reporter – International News

International News

---

REACTOR RESEARCH. Pictured in Naraha town is a demonstration of a drone
designed to probe the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The
operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant demonstrated the mini
drones at a nearby research facility ahead of their first flight for an
investigation inside of one of the damaged reactors, as they seek to gather more
data about hundreds of tons of melted fuel that remain inside of them. (Daisuke
Kojima/Kyodo News via AP)

From The Asian Reporter, V34, #2 (February 5, 2024), page 2.

Drone the size of a bread slice may allow Japan closer look
inside damaged Fukushima nuclear plant

By Mari Yamaguchi

The Associated Press

NARAHA, Japan — A drone almost the size of a slice of bread is Japan’s newest
hope to get clearer footage of one of the reactors inside the tsunami-hit
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant where hundreds of tons of damaged fuel
remain almost 13 years after the disaster.

A magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami in March 2011 destroyed the plant’s power
supply and cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt down. Massive amounts
of fatally radioactive melted nuclear fuel remain inside to this day.

The plant’s operating company, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO),
last month unveiled small drones they want to use to gather more data from parts
of one of the reactors previously inaccessible.

TEPCO has tried sending robots inside each of the three reactors but got
hindered by debris, high radiation, and an inability to navigate them through
the rubble, though they were able to gather some data in recent years.

During January’s demonstration at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s mockup
facility in Naraha, a drone weighing only 185 grams (6.5 ounces) circled around,
showcasing its maneuvering ability, carefully avoiding obstacles and mock-up
remains that included an abandoned robot from a 2015 internal probe. It also
continuously sent a black-and-white live feed using its installed camera to an
operation room.

Shoichi Shinzawa, the probe project manager, said the demonstration was the
result of the training that started in July. He also said four drones were ready
to be sent inside the No. 1 reactor for five-minute intervals, partly due to
short battery life.

He said utility officials hope to use the new data to develop technology and
robots for future probes as well as for the plan to remove the melted fuel from
the reactor. He added that the data will be used in the investigation of how
exactly the 2011 meltdown occurred.

The company intends to send the drones inside the primary containment vessel
of the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant this month. Two drones
will first inspect the area around the exterior of the main structural support
in the vessel, called the pedestal, before deciding if they can dispatch the
other two inside, the area previous probes could not reach.

The pedestal is directly under the reactor’s core. Officials are hopeful to
be able to check out and film the core’s bottom to find out how overheated fuel
dripped there in 2011.

About 900 tons of highly radioactive melted nuclear fuel remain inside the
three damaged reactors. Critics say the 30- to 40-year cleanup target set by the
government and TEPCO for Fukushima Daiichi is overly optimistic. The damage in
each reactor is different and plans need to be formed to accommodate their
conditions.

TEPCO said it will do a test trial to remove a small amount of melted debris
in the No. 2 reactor possibly by the end of March after a nearly two-year delay.

Spent fuel removal from the Unit 1 reactor’s cooling pool is set to start in
2027, after a 10-year delay. Once all the spent fuel is removed, melted debris
will be taken out in 2031.

Japan has begun releasing the plant’s treated and diluted radioactive
wastewater into the sea and will continue to do so for decades. The wastewater
discharges have been strongly opposed by fishing groups and neighboring
countries including China and South Korea.

* * *

Read the current issue of The Asian Reporter in its entirety!
Go to <www.asianreporter.com/completepaper.htm>!