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Japan needs special robots to begin removing nuclear debris from Fukushima nuclear reactor

  • The debris has radiation levels so high that specialised robots had to be developed to function inside a battered nuclear reactor

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Reactor buildings of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture. Photo: AP

The operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant said on Monday it will send a probe inside a battered reactor this week for a trial removal of radioactive debris.

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Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) aims to retrieve a tiny sample of the estimated 880 tons of radioactive debris that is believed to sit inside reactors at the tsunami-hit nuclear plant.

The sample will be studied for clues about the condition of the inside of the reactors and their hazardous contents, a crucial step towards decommissioning the plant.

“We will proceed carefully by putting safety as our highest priority,” a Tepco official told a news conference Monday.

A Tepco spokesperson shows photos captured by a robotic probe inside one of the three melted reactors at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, on April 4, 2023. Photo: AP
A Tepco spokesperson shows photos captured by a robotic probe inside one of the three melted reactors at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, on April 4, 2023. Photo: AP

The debris has radiation levels so high that Tepco has had to develop specialised robots that can withstand them to function inside.

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