TEPCO begins inserting robot arm to retrieve Fukushima nuke fuel debris
Baku, October 2, AZERTAC
Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. began work Friday to insert a remote-controlled robotic arm into the containment vessel of the No. 2 reactor at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in preparation for another attempt to retrieve melted fuel debris next year, according to Kyodo.
The arm, which had been folded up inside a metal box, was extended and its tip passed through a valve in a pipe leading to the containment vessel at 10 a.m., TEPCO said. It will enter the vessel through an opening, known as X-6, on its side.
The utility plans to spend three to four months removing obstacles and collecting three-dimensional data on the vessel's interior before attempting its third trial retrieval, it said. The entire operation, including the retrieval, is expected to take about six months.
TEPCO hopes the findings will help it prepare for large-scale debris removal.
The two previous attempts, in 2024 and 2025, used a device resembling a fishing rod to recover a combined total of about 0.9 grams of debris.
An estimated 880 tons of fuel debris remain in the plant's three damaged reactors. High radiation levels prevent workers from entering the containment vessels, leaving much of the debris and surrounding conditions unknown.
The robotic arm will survey the interior while clearing obstacles, including cutting through steel rails with high-pressure water.
The arm has multiple joints that allow it to reach a wide area and can be fitted with different tools at its tip. A remotely operated robot with two arms inside the storage box will swap the tools according to the task.
The robotic arm was originally meant to be used for the first debris retrieval, but its deployment was repeatedly delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.
Development of the arm began in 2017 by the now-dissolved International Research Institute for Nuclear Decommissioning and a British nuclear company.
About 7.8 billion yen ($49 million) in government funds has been spent on the arm and related projects.
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