Kansai Electric Power Company obtains consent to export spent nuclear fuel to Fukui Prefecture
Tokyo Electric Power Company has begun work on opening the cover of the pipe leading into the containment vessel to test extract nuclear fuel debris from Unit 2 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant later this year, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on the 13th. .
According to reports, the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company plan to begin experimental extraction of debris mixed with nuclear fuel melted from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident and surrounding structures from Unit 2 of the nuclear power plant later this year.
In the plan, a robot arm is supposed to be inserted into a pipe with a diameter of about 50 cm leading into the containment vessel, so Tokyo Electric Power Company began work on loosening the 24 bolts securing the pipe cover in June of this year.
However, the work was difficult as some of the bolts hardened and did not loosen, so all the bolts were loosened, including cutting them out with a drill, and the work of opening the cover was able to begin on the morning of the 13th.
Tokyo Electric Power Company has decided to review how to proceed with the work of checking the inside of the pipe and extracting debris after completely opening the cover.
However, as a preliminary investigation conducted by inserting a scanner into a small hole confirmed that there was sediment within the pipe, it may become difficult to insert the robot arm depending on the situation.
Debri shipment was originally planned for 2021, but was postponed twice due to a review of equipment design.
It is estimated that a total of 880 tons of debris remains in the reactors and containment vessels of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 to 3, but the amount that can be recovered through test extraction from Unit 2 is expected to be only a few grams (g), NHK reported.
Meanwhile, Fukui Prefecture Governor Tatsuji Sugimoto formally expressed his agreement on the 13th to Kansai Electric Power Company’s plan to export spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants in Fukui Prefecture out of the prefecture.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that if Kansai Electric Power Company did not decide on an export location within the year, the operation of three nuclear power plants that were over 40 years old were scheduled to be suspended, but the suspension could be avoided.
Kansai Electric Power Company’s plan is to export 200 tons of spent nuclear fuel from the Takahama nuclear power plant to France starting in 2027. To this end, in addition to transporting spent nuclear fuel to the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing facility in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture starting in 2026, an ‘intermediate storage facility’ for temporary storage until 2030 will be secured somewhere outside the prefecture.
Source: Donga
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