Fukushima debris arrives at lab after secret journey
Removing around 880 tons of radioactive material from the damaged plant is the most daunting task
Employees load a transportation box containing fuel debris into a container at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Nov. 7.
HANDOUT / VIA TEPCO / VIA AFP-JIJI
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A small amount of radioactive debris removed by a robot from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has arrived at a research lab near Tokyo, the plant operator said Tuesday, after a journey kept secret for safety reasons.
The announcement comes after operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said last week that a tricky trial debris removal operation using a specially developed extendible device had been completed.
More than 13 years after a catastrophic tsunami caused by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents, around 880 tons of hazardous material remain.
Removing this debris is seen as the most daunting challenge in the decades-long decommissioning project, because of the dangerously high radiation levels.
Despite delays caused by technical snags, the trial debris removal from the plant in northeastern Japan went ahead with the aim of studying the sample for clues about conditions inside the reactors.