TEPCO Eyes 2nd Test Removal of N-Fuel Debris

Tokyo, Nov. 29 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. is considering conducting a second test to remove nuclear fuel debris from one of the three meltdown-hit reactors at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, company officials said Thursday.

As in the previous test, TEPCO plans to use a fishing rod-shaped device to remove the debris from the plant's No. 2 reactor.

TEPCO collected 0.7 gram of debris in the first test, which started in September and ended on Nov. 7. The debris is currently under analysis at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.

Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shinsuke Yamanaka has asked the company to collect more debris to gather more data.

Some 880 tons of nuclear debris, a mixture of melted fuel and reactor parts, is estimated to remain in the No. 1 to No. 3 reactors at the plant, which was crippled by a powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]