Drone video from inside a Fukushima reactor shows a hole in pressure vessel, likely fuel debris
TOKYO (AP) — A video captured by small drones sent to one of three damaged reactors Fukushima The Daiichi nuclear power plant has a large hole in the core’s thick-walled steel container, with remnants of melted fuel possibly hanging from it, as the first sighting of the pressure vessel floor reveals. collapse 15 years ago.
The rare images were captured by microdrones measuring 12 by 13 centimeters (4.7 by 5.1 inches) and weighing just 95 grams (3.3 ounces) each, and were deployed to collect visual, radiation and other data from inside the Unit 3 reactor for a two-week mission. It was released late Thursday.
The massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 destroyed the cooling systems of the Fukushima Daiichi plant and caused meltdowns at reactors 1, 2, and 3.
The three reactors contain at least 880 tonnes of molten fuel residue, and radiation levels remain dangerously high. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which manages the facility, successfully retrieved small samples of molten fuel from the facility. Unit 2 reactor last year, but internal details are little known.
TEPCO plans to buy more remote-controlled probes and samples to analyze molten fuel and develop robots for the future removal of fuel residues Experts say this could take decades more.
A key goal of the latest research was to send drones as close to the bottom of the pressure vessel as possible, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, the operator of the facility.
During multiple flight missions aboard the probe that began March 5, remote-controlled microdrones carefully flew one by one around debris, broken equipment and other obstacles to capture images inside the primary containment chamber, including the bottom of the pressure vessel.
The images showed torn tubes and other damaged structures inside the initially sealed pressure vessel. Brown and gray objects were also seen hanging like giant icicles.
TEPCO spokesman Masaki Kuwajima said officials confirmed there was a hole in the bottom of the ship and that hanging objects, pellets and debris were believed to be remnants of melted fuel.
The drones also collected radiation measurements and data to create a detailed three-dimensional map of the interior of the Unit 3 reactor, Kuwajima said. “We obtained valuable data that can be used for our future internal investigations and developing a strategy to clean up melted fuel debris.”
The latest drone mission comes almost a decade after an earlier underwater robotic probe provided a less clear picture of the inside of the Unit 3 reactor.
