A Japanese nuclear reactor that restarted last week for the first time in more than 13 years after it had survived a massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that badly damaged the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant was shut down again Monday due to an equipment problem, its operator said. reactor at the Onagawa nuclear power plant on Japan’s northern coast was put back online on Oct. 29 and had been expected to start generating power in early November.
But it had to be shut down again five days after its restart due to a glitch that occurred Sunday in a device related to neutron data inside the reactor, plant operator Tohoku Electric Power Co. said. The reactor was operating normally and there was no release of radiation into the environment, Tohoku Electric said. The utility said it decided to shut it down to re-examine equipment to address residents’ safety concerns. No new date for a restart was given. The reactor is one of three at the Onagawa plant, which is 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the Fukushima Daiichi plant where three reactors melted following a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, releasing large amounts of radiation.
he Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant lost its essential cooling systems during the earthquake and tsunami of 2011. This disaster resulted in meltdowns in three of its reactors. Approximately 880 tons of dangerously radioactive molten fuel are still present in these reactors To this end, TEPCO has conducted several robotic probes to determine how to decommission the plant safely .The Japanese government and TEPCO have set a target of 30 to 40 years for the cleanup, but experts believe this timeline is overly optimistic and needs reassessment. No specific plans have been made to remove fuel debris at the time of writing.
A robot has, for the first time since the 2011 meltdown, retrieved a piece of radioactive fuel from the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. TEPCO confirmed that Tele sco entered the reactor on Wednesday and returned with a piece weighing less than 3 grams from underneath the Unit 2 reactor core, where large amounts of melted fuel fell during the meltdown 13 years ago.
Plant chief Akira Ono said that only this tiny spec can provide key data to help plan the decommissioning strategy, develop the necessary technology and robots, and retroactively understand how the accident developed. The government and TEPCO have set a target of 30 to 40 years for the cleanup, but experts say this is overly optimistic and should be reassessed.
Tohoku Electric Power Co., which operates the reactor, said it was “facing difficulties in sending in a device to confirm the condition” of No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa plant in northeastern Miyagi province. The reactor resumed operations last week on Tuesday, becoming the first to restart since the nuclear disaster triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011, damaging the Fukushima nuclear plant. Coastal parts of Miyagi province were also hit.
