A giant crane removed two rods packed with nuclear fuel from the Fukushima nuclear plant yesterday, the beginning of a delicate and long process to reduce the risk of more radiation escaping from the disaster-stricken plant.
All of the 1,535 rods in a spent-fuel pool next to reactor No. 4 at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in northeastern Japan must eventually be moved to safer storage - an effort expected to take until the end of next year, according to the government.
The building containing the pool and reactor was destroyed by an explosion following the failure of cooling systems after a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The cores of three reactors melted.
Fears run deep about the large amounts of radioactive material stored in the pool, which unlike fuel in the cores of the reactors is not protected by thick containment vessels. The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, intends to remove all the rods to eliminate the risk of the pool spewing radiation.
Separately, a reactor at the Ohi nuclear plant in central Japan went online yesterday, the second to restart after the disasters. Another Ohi reactor was restarted earlier this month.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Monday demanding an end to nuclear power, outraged by the restarts. It was the biggest rally since the Fukushima crisis began.
Also yesterday, the government ordered two utilities, Kansai Electric Power Co, which operates Ohi, and Hokuriki Electric Power Co to restudy earthquake faults that lie beneath their nuclear plants.
Japanese TV reports showed cranes removing the 4-meter rods. TEPCO declined comment, citing the need for secrecy in handling nuclear material.
About 150,000 people fled their homes after last year’s nuclear disaster, the worst since Chernobyl. A 20-kilometer zone around the plant remains a no-go area.
According to a worst-case scenario prepared by the government, a loss of coolant in the spent-fuel pool at reactor No. 4 could have caused a massive release of radiation and forced millions of people to flee.
