Fishing Rod-Like Robot Retrieves First Melted Fuel Sample From Fukushima Reactor

Thirteen years after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in northern Japan, causing a catastrophic meltdown, the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., sent a fishing rod-like robotic device into one of the plant's three damaged reactors to extract the first tiny piece of radioactive material.

AP News reports that Tepco successfully retrieved 2 inches of radioactive material from a mound of molten fuel debris on the bottom of the No. 2 reactor. The 3-gram (0.1-ounce) piece will provide crucial data for the plant's operator to proceed with a decommissioning strategy...

Telesco on Wednesday successfully clipped a piece presumably measuring less than 3 grams (0.1 ounce) from the planned area right underneath the Unit 2 reactor core, from which large amounts of melted fuel fell during the meltdown 13 years ago, TEPCO said.

Plant chief Akira Ono said only the tiny spec can provide key data to plan decommissioning strategy, develop necessary technology and robots and retroactively learn how the accident had developed.

The government and TEPCO have set a 30-to-40-year target for the cleanup, which experts say is overly optimistic and should be updated. -AP News

Decommissioning Fukushima Dai-ichi will take decades. The sample will provide more exact figures to update decommissioning timelines. The site holds 880 tons of highly radioactive molten fuel in three reactor buildings.

Meanwhile, in August 2023, Tepco began releasing treated radioactive wastewater from the plant into the sea. This infuriated China, which shortly after blocked imports of Japanese seafood.