TEPCO Resumes Trial Work to Remove Nuclear Fuel Debris

Tokyo, Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. on Monday resumed experimental work to remove nuclear fuel debris from the No. 2 reactor at its meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

The work had been suspended for more than a month mainly due to the need to replace two glitch-hit cameras attached to a debris-removal device.

In the trial, collecting the debris from the reactor is expected to take about two weeks. If the attempt ends in success, the process of decommissioning the plant will enter a new phase.

TEPCO is slated to insert a remotely operated telescopic-type device, shaped like a fishing rod, into the reactor containment vessel to collect up to about 3 grams of debris from the bottom of the vessel.

The collected debris will be analyzed at a facility of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]