At the end of 3 days of conducting an inspection of the nuclear reactor of the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan after the 2011 disaster, the remote-controlled robot discovered pieces of lava-like rocks believed to be caused by natural gas. produced by molten nuclei.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said on July 23 that large numbers of hardened plaques and deposits were found for the first time in the bottom of the primary protection chamber under the core of reactor 3.
According to TEPCO, it is highly likely that the solidified objects are a mixture of fuel and molten metal. TEPCO will continue to analyze these collected images.
TEPCO used a robot with the size of 30cmx13cm to the No. 3 reactor and performed the test for 3 days on July 19, 21 and 22.
Photos taken at Fukushima’s reactor. (Source: AFP/Getty Images/TheGuardian).
An inspection on July 19 showed that the metal scaffolding inside the blast furnace before the disaster had disappeared.
On July 21, the robot found black stalactite-like objects clinging to the bottom of reactor 3’s damaged high-pressure furnace.
On March 11, 2011, an undersea earthquake caused high waves to hit the northeastern coast of Japan, killing more than 18,500 people and melting three reactors of the Fukushima No. This is considered the worst disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
In December 2016, the Japanese government estimated the cost of compensation, decommissioning and decontamination will be about 21.5 trillion yen (equivalent to 192.5 billion USD) in a roadmap that will take up to at least four decades. due to high levels of radiation slows down this activity.
Although TEPCO is responsible for paying, but because this number is expected to exceed initial estimates, the Government of Japan on February 10 decided to allow the use of state funds in case of decommissioning work. toxic delay from TEPCO side.
In addition, the government also plans to use state funds to build roads, water sources and other infrastructure.