Japan Pictures Likely Show Melted Fukushima Fuel for First Time
- Submarine-like robot has been surveying reactor since July 19
- Tepco aims to begin removing Fukushima’s melted fuel by 2021
In this aerial image, the No. 1 reactor building (R) at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is completely exposed after the last of 18 temporary protective covers was removed on November 7, 2016 in Okuma, Fukushima, Japan.
Photographer: The Asahi Shimbun/Getty ImagesNew images show what is likely to be melted nuclear fuel hanging from inside one of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima reactors, a potential milestone in the cleanup of one of the worst atomic disasters in history.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc., Japan’s biggest utility, released images on Friday showing a hardened black, grey and orange substance that dripped from the bottom of the No. 3 reactor pressure vessel at Fukushima, which is likely to contain melted fuel, according to Takahiro Kimoto, an official at the company. The company sent a Toshiba-designed robot, which can swim and resembles a submarine, to explore the inside of the reactor for the first time on July 19.