The Next Stage of Decommissioning

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident was caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. Fourteen years have now passed, and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) continues to prioritize safety while making every effort to eliminate the risks posed by radioactive materials during the decommissioning process.
So far, TEPCO has focused on suppressing the spread of radioactive materials, implementing countermeasures for contaminated water, and removing fuel from spent fuel pools.
The most difficult challenge of the decommissioning process will be retrieving the melted fuel debris from inside the reactor buildings. To achieve this, numerous preliminary investigations have been conducted to assess the attributes of the fuel debris and the conditions inside the reactors. Extensive expertise has been applied to the development of retrieval equipment, and multiple mock-up tests have been carried out. As a result, in November 2024, TEPCO successfully conducted a trial fuel debris retrieval, and the radioactive attributes and composition of the sampled fuel debris will be thoroughly analyzed to aid in future large-scale retrieval operations.
Fuel debris retrieval is unprecedented, uncharted, and the most difficult task we will face. This program will portray the people undertaking the challenges of decommissioning in harsh, high-radiation environments, and overcoming obstacles never before encountered in the world, and contributing to Fukushima’s recovery.