3 March, 2021
Challenged by Rubble, TEPCO Completes Removal of Spent Fuel Assemblies from Pool at Fukushima Daiichi-3 NPP
On February 28, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced that it had completed removal of 566 spent fuel assemblies from the Unit 3 spent fuel pool at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs).
This is a major accomplishment—the first from a plant with a melted reactor core. It follows the removal of 1,535 assemblies from Unit 4, which had been shut down at the time of the accident. The work, carried out by remote control, was difficult, hampered by rubble and debris, as well as by quality-control procurement issues and other problems with equipment. With improvements, perseverance and training, the utility completed the removal at Unit 3 by the end of FY20 (i.e., by March 31, 2021), as targeted in the “mid-to-long-term roadmap” toward the decommissioning.
Removal was accomplished within a dome-like cover installed at the upper part of the reactor building. It had been slated to start in mid-FY18 (around September 2018), but there were difficulties with equipment and facilitie...more
- 14 April, 2020 IAEA Issues Report Reviewing Treated Contaminated Water at Fukushima Daiichi NPPs, Praising Earlier ANRE Report
- 3 April, 2020 Minamisoma City Releases PR Videos about Plan to Become a “Robot Innovation City”
- 3 April, 2020 TEPCO Presents Ten-Year Decommissioning Midterm Action Plan for Fukushima Daiichi NPS
- 16 March, 2020 Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field Opens in Namie Town, with Hydrogen to Be Used in Tokyo Olympics
- 5 February, 2020 Interview with Two Experts: Former UKAEA Chair Says “Political Intentions Exist Behind Unfounded Fears and Rumors”
- 30 January, 2020 ALPS Achieves Treatment Volume of One Million Tons in Less than Seven Years
- 21 January, 2020 Evacuation Orders for Futaba, Okuma, Tomioka Towns to Be Partially Lifted in March, with JR Joban Line to Be Completely Reopened for Service
- 24 December, 2019 Fuel Removal from Fukushima Daiichi-1 NPP: Large Cover to be Installed First
- 21 November, 2019 TEPCO Announces Timeline for Storage and Disposal of Treated Contaminated Water at Fukushima Daiichi
- 7 October, 2019 Fukushima Joban Products Fair Begins, Featuring Seafood Sent Directly to Restaurants in Tokyo-Yokohama Area
- 16 August, 2019 Two-day International Forum on Decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi Focuses on Coexistence and Co-prosperity with Local Communities
- 9 August, 2019 IRID Symposium Held in Fukushima, with Students Explaining Their Research on Fuel Debris Removal
- 8 August, 2019 TEPCO Decides to Decommission All Four Fukushima Daini Units
14 April, 2020
ANRE Begins Hearing from Concerned Parties on Handling of Treated Contaminated Water at Fukushima Daiichi NPPs
On April 6, Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE), having previously published its report on the handling of treated contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), held the first of a series of meetings to hear from concerned parties in Fukushima City (Fukushima Prefecture). Governor Masao Uchibori was invited to the hearing, along with municipal heads and representatives of various industries in the prefecture, to air their opinions and views.
Similar meetings to hear from additional local parties will take place in the future, toward a final decision by the national government on a disposal method for the water.
Contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi NPPs, continuingly generated during the cooling of fuel debris in the reactor buildings, is being purified using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). One ongoing issue, however, has been the handling of the treated water containing tritium, which ALPS cannot remove.
In a report released in February on discussions up to that time, an ANRE committee said that offshore release and vapor release were both practical methods for handling the treated water, adding that measures to prevent unfounded fears and rumors also needed to be enhanced and strengthened.
On Apr...more
