JAPAN: The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Tepco, say they expect the critical removal of fuel rods to go smoothly

Record ID: 275894

  • Title: JAPAN: The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Tepco, say they expect the critical removal of fuel rods to go smoothly
  • Date: 8th November 2013
  • Summary: FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR PLANT, FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN (NOVEMBER 7, 2013) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF REACTOR NO.4 BUILDING IN FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT VARIOUS OF WORKERS INSIDE REACTOR NO.4 BUILDING VARIOUS OF SPENT FUEL RODS IN POOL WORKERS WORKING ON MACHINE FOR REMOVING DAMAGED FUEL RODS FUEL RODS UNDER WATER VARIOUS OF WORKERS WORKING ON CYLINDER-SHAPED
  • Embargoed: 23rd November 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • City:
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVAES1DMEZMGOCK0H3P5L8MIW68K
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), said on Friday (November 7) they expected the removal of fuel rods to go smoothly.
    With Japan's government having approved Tepco's plan to remove the fuel rods last week, workers at the plant were preparing to extract thousands of nuclear fuel rods from the fuel pool of the No. 4 reactor. Something that could happen as early as next week.
    Containing radiation equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima 68 years ago, more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies packed tightly together need to be removed from a building that is vulnerable to collapse, should another large earthquake hit the area.
    The structure will house the cranes that will carry out the delicate task of extracting fuel assemblies that might have may be damaged by the quake, the subsequent explosion or corrosion from salt water that was poured into the pool when fresh supplies ran out during the crisis.
    The head of Fukushima Daiichi plant, Akira Ono, said they had previous experience in carrying out the task.

    "Basically, we're taking the same steps we applied to the decommissioning of other nuclear facilities, so in that, we're handling a task which we have experience on," Ono told a group of foreign journalists invited to the wrecked facility, 230 kilometer (140 miles) north of Tokyo.

    "I don't think it's an extremely difficult operation," he added.
    Ono said durability is important as the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi is expected to take decades.

    "The decommissioning will take 30 to 40 years from now, so we're focusing on preparing durable equipment as well as changing our operational system to be suitable to such prolonged tasks," he said.
    Tepco has erected a giant steel frame over the top of the building after removing debris left behind by an explosion that rocked the unit during the 2011 disaster.
    The fuel assemblies are situated in a 10-metre by 12-metre concrete pool, the base of which is 18 meters above ground level.
    Each fuel rod assembly weighs about 300 kilograms (660 pounds) and is 4.5 meters (15 feet) long. There are 1,331 of the spent fuel assemblies and a further 202 unused assemblies are also stored in the pool, Tepco has said.
    The pool was damaged in a hydrogen explosion a few days after the quake and tsunami blew off the roof. The cranes and equipment normally used to extract used fuel from the reactor's core were also destroyed.
    Tepco has shored up the building to withstand further earthquakes but the nuclear fuel pool contains debris further complicating the extraction process.
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