Space Travel News
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Second debris removal trial starts at Fukushima plant
Second debris removal trial starts at Fukushima plant
by AFP Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) April 15, 2025

Japanese engineers began Tuesday a difficult operation to remove a second sample of radioactive debris from inside the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

Around 880 tonnes of hazardous material are inside the site after a catastrophic tsunami caused by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered one of history's worst nuclear accidents in 2011.

Removing the debris is seen as the most daunting challenge in a decades-long decommissioning project because of the dangerously high radiation levels.

"At 10:03 am (0103 GMT), the second trial extraction operation was started," Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said in a statement.

The second removal comes after TEPCO completed the first trial removal operation using a specially developed extendible device in November.

The sample weighing just below 0.7 grams (0.02 ounces) -- equivalent to about one raisin -- was delivered to a research lab near Tokyo for analysis.

But TEPCO needs more data to examine methods for full-scale debris extractions.

The company said in December it was "upgrading" the telescopic device used for the first experiment by attaching a new camera to its tip.

Three of Fukushima's six reactors went into meltdown in 2011 after the huge tsunami swamped the facility.

Last month, robots began moving sandbags that were used to absorb radiation-contaminated water on underground floors of two buildings at the Fukushima site.

In 2023, Japan began releasing into the Pacific Ocean some of the 540 Olympic swimming pools' worth of treated wastewater, which has been endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

China banned Japanese seafood imports as a result, and Russia later followed suit.

This month China said it found no abnormalities in seawater and marine life samples that it independently collected near Fukushima in February.

But Beijing indicated that more tests would be needed before it lifts the ban.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Coolant leak at Europe's biggest nuclear reactor: operator
Helsinki (AFP) Mar 10, 2025
About 100 cubic metres of "radioactive coolant" leaked from Finland's Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor, the largest in Europe, operator TVO said Monday, adding that the incident posed no safety risk. The leakage struck on Friday during the reactor's annual outage for maintenance "in connection with the filling of the reactor pool," TVO said in a statement. "The coolant flowed into containment rooms closed to the environment and into the floor drain system of the containment. The incident did not pose ... read more

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Just Keep Driving - Sols 4507-4508

A step closer to Martian habitability as lichens endure simulated surface conditions

How to engineer microbes to enable us to live on Mars

A step closer to Martian survival as lichens endure harsh red planet conditions

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Drier far side of the Moon deepens understanding of lunar evolution

Redwire and ispace-US forge partnership to pursue lunar mission contracts

Differences in lunar space weathering revealed by farside samples

True Anomaly expands Jackal spacecraft operations to GEO and lunar space

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
20 years of Hubble data reveals evolving weather patterns on Uranus

NASA's Hubble Telescope May Have Uncovered a Triple System in the Kuiper Belt

NASA's Europa Clipper Leverages Mars for Critical Gravity Assist

Oort cloud resembles a galaxy, new study finds

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Where are all the aliens?: Fermi's Paradox explained

In the quest for alien life, even empty results hold value

How alien energy patterns may reveal extraterrestrial life

Scientists uncover dominant new microbe group deep in Earth's soil

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
SpaceX doubleheader: Spy satellites launched in California, then Starlink ones in Florida

Amazon satellite launch scrubbed due to weather

SpaceX launches next round of Internet satellites from California

ISRO completes extended plasma thruster test for future satellite propulsion

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Microbial profile mapped aboard China space station

China highlights major strides in moon research and exploration

Space station advances muscle and semiconductor science

China logs 15th orbital mission with launch of Tianlian II-04

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
How NASA Science Data Defends Earth from Asteroids

NASA Webb Telescope Sizes Up Small Asteroid with Big Implications

Asteroid risk reevaluated with fresh data from Earth and space

Life rebounded quickly after dinosaur-killing impact

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.