A remotely operated robot has made a significant advancement at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant by retrieving a small sample of melted fuel. This marks the first time since the 2011 nuclear disaster that such a sample has been collected from the No. 2 reactor. The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) confirmed that the robot, designed like an extendable fishing rod, successfully extracted a 5-millimeter piece from the top surface of a mound of molten fuel debris. This operation is crucial for understanding the melted fuel's condition.
Despite the milestone, challenges persist. The mission, which began in August and faced delays due to procedural errors and equipment malfunctions, must confirm that the sample's radioactivity is within acceptable limits for safe storage. If not, further retrieval attempts focused on obtaining smaller samples may be necessary. TEPCO remains optimistic the tiny piece won't exceed the limits. Akira Ono, the plant's chief, emphasized the sample's importance for guiding decommissioning strategies and technology development as part of Japan's long-term cleanup effort.
With around 880 tons of hazardous molten fuel still in the reactors, the cleanup is projected to take 30 to 40 years, although experts call this estimate optimistic. There remain a lack of finalized plans for the complete removal and disposal of the fuel debris. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
