Reactor Dismantling Begins at Central Japan N-Plant

Nagoya, March 18 (Jiji Press)--Chubu Electric Power Co. has begun dismantling the pressure vessel of the No. 2 reactor at its Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan.

The power utility removed Monday the top lid of the reactor, marking the first time in Japan that the dismantling of a commercial nuclear reactor has begun. The firm is in the process of decommissioning the Hamaoka plant's No. 1 and No. 2 reactors.

According to Chubu Electric, the top lid spans about 6 meters in diameter and around 3 meters in height, is roughly 80 centimeters thick and weighs approximately 55 tons.

From March 27, the company plans to cut the lid into pieces that are each around 4 meters long, about a meter wide and some 8 centimeters thick, using a large cutting device.

The work is expected to run through July, after which Chubu Electric will begin taking apart structures inside the reactor, the rest of the pressure vessel and the radiation shield.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]