The operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant said Thursday it has given up on a plan to begin retrieving debris that contains melted nuclear fuel at the No. 2 reactor within the current fiscal year through March due to technical difficulties.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. now aims to start the process by October this year at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, whose reactors were severely damaged by the loss of cooling functions triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.
Taking out the highly radioactive mixture of melted nuclear fuel and debris from the plant's structure is considered one of the hardest tasks in the process of decommissioning the crippled power plant.
The new schedule will utilize a new method of retrieval.
It remains unclear how the third and latest delay will affect TEPCO's road map for scrapping Fukushima reactors by around 2041 and 2051.
The utility had initially planned to start retrieving debris from the No. 2 unit in 2021 but postponed it to 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic and the need to improve a robotic arm. It then said it aimed to carry out the process in the latter half of fiscal 2023.
TEPCO also said Thursday that approximately 54,600 tons of treated radioactive water will be discharged into the sea in seven rounds during fiscal 2024, which starts in April.
The total amount of tritium to be released during that period is expected to be around 14 trillion becquerels, well below the annual limit of 22 trillion becquerels, according to TEPCO.
