Miniature drones have recently captured never-before-seen images from inside the badly damaged reactor at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. The images, taken by tiny drones, reveal displaced control equipment and misshapen materials inside the reactor, raising many questions about the condition of the reactor.
These are the first photographs from inside the main structural support, known as the pedestal, in the hardest-hit No. 1 reactor’s primary containment vessel. Previous attempts to explore this area with robots were unsuccessful, making this a significant milestone in understanding the extent of the damage.
The probe was conducted by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) and was completed last week. The images show around 880 tons of highly radioactive melted nuclear fuel that remain inside the damaged reactors. TEPCO is hoping to gather more information about the location and condition of the fuel in order to facilitate its removal as part of the decommissioning process.
The high-definition color images taken by the drones show brown objects dangling from the pedestal and dislodged equipment inside the core. However, it is unclear whether these objects are melted fuel or equipment without additional data such as radiation levels. The drones did not carry dosimeters to measure radiation due to the need for a lightweight and maneuverable design.
The information gathered from this probe could be crucial for future investigations into the melted debris and the development of technologies for its removal. However, the large amount of unknowns about the interior of the reactors suggests that the decommissioning process may be more challenging than initially anticipated.
Critics have pointed out that the 30-40 year target set by the government and TEPCO for the cleanup of the plant may be overly optimistic. The decommissioning process has already been delayed for years due to technical hurdles and the lack of necessary data. The images captured by the miniature drones provide a valuable insight into the damaged reactor, but there is still much work to be done in order to safely decommission the Fukushima nuclear plant.
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