Japan yesterday revised a roadmap for the cleanup of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, further delaying the removal of thousands of spent fuel units that remain in cooling pools since the 2011 disaster.
It is a key step in the decades-long process, underscoring high radiation and other risks.
The government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) have set a completion target of 30 to 40 years.
Photo: Bloomberg
More than 4,700 units of fuel rods remain inside the three melted reactors, and two other reactors that survived the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
They pose a high risk, as their storage pools are uncovered and a loss of water in the case of another disaster could cause fuel rods to melt, releasing radiation.
Their removal at the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors is being delayed by up to 10 years from the initial target of last year, with more preparation needed to reduce radiation, and clear debris and other risks.
TEPCO has been unable to release the 1.2 million tonnes of treated, but radioactive water kept in nearly 1,000 tanks at the plant, fearing public repercussions and the effects on the area’s struggling fishing and farming enterprises.
The water keeps growing by 170 tonnes daily, because it is used to cool the melted fuel.
Removal of an estimated 880 tonnes of molten fuel from the plant’s three melted reactors is an unprecedented challenge.
The removal of the melted fuel is to begin with just a spoonful, which is to be carefully measured and analyzed in compliance with International Atomic Energy Agency instructions.
The Japanese government hopes to gradually expand the scale of the removal, although further expertise and robotic development is needed.
Japan has yet to develop a plan to dispose of the highly radioactive melted fuel and other debris that came out of the reactors.
There would be an estimated 770,000 tonnes of solid radioactive waste by 2030, including contaminated debris and soil, sludge from water treatment, scrapped tanks and other waste.
The waste is to be sorted out, treated and compacted for safe storage under a plan to be finalized by 2028.
The Japanese government has estimated the cost of decommissioning the plant to be ￥8 trillion (US$73 billion), but compensation, decontamination of the surrounding areas and medium-term storage facilities could bring the total to ￥22 trillion.
More than 10,000 workers are needed annually in the coming years, with about one-third assigned to do work related to the radioactive water.
Securing an experienced workforce for the decades-long cleanup is a challenge in a country with a rapidly aging population.
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