The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant removed the second panel from the cover of a reactor building on Monday morning. Tokyo Electric Power Company is testing to see whether radioactive materials will spread from the building during removal work. Workers used a remote-controlled crane to lift the second of 6 panels from the top of the No. 1 reactor building. The first panel was removed last month. Earlier, workers injected chemicals into holes made in the cover to prevent dust from spreading. TEPCO says that so far, no monitoring device within the plant compound has detected anything unusual. The utility says it will continue monitoring for about a month. If no problems are detected, the company plans to begin full-scale dismantling of the cover in March. TEPCO says that after removing all the panels, it will begin removing debris from inside the No. 1 reactor building. The work is part of preparations for taking out about 400 units of nuclear fuel from a spent fuel storage pool. TEPCO initially planned to dismantle the cover from July. But it postponed the operation after radioactive dust spread during the removal of debris from the No. 3 reactor building last year.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 15:25:40 +0000
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