Installation error halts Japanese efforts to clean up Fukushima nuclear fuel waste
The Tokyo Electric Power Company on Thursday halted efforts to remove nuclear fuel residue from a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. A preparation error caused the effort to fail. The plant was destroyed by a tsunami on March 11, 2011, following a magnitude 9.0 earthquake. File photo by Kimimasa Mayama/EPA-EFE
Aug. 22 (UPI) – The Tokyo Electric Power Company on Thursday stopped attempts to clean up leftover nuclear fuel following a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The company said there were setup errors that stopped work.
“We are now investigating why there was an error in the order in which the pipes were laid,” a TEPCO representative said during a press conference.
TEPCO did not say when another attempt would be made, but said it would not take place on Friday.
During preparatory work to remove the fuel element, a remote-controlled telescopic device was inserted just before it was connected to the containment vessel of the Fukushima reactor. The work was halted when TEPCO discovered that the order of the five pipes connected to the device was incorrect.
The Fukushima prefectural government has asked the company to take measures to prevent such mistakes in the future, as they cause uncertainty among local residents.
“It is better to continue work safely and steadily rather than rushing,” TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa told reporters.
As part of the experiment to remove nuclear fuel residues, up to three grams were to be removed from reactor No. 2 on a test basis.
There are an estimated 880 tonnes of fuel residues in reactors 1 to 3 at Fukushima.
The Fukushima nuclear power plant was flooded by a tsunami triggered by a strong earthquake on March 11, 2011. Core meltdowns occurred in the six reactors 1 to 3. Hydrogen explosions damaged the buildings that housed reactors 1, 3 and 4.
