Pebble-like nuclear fuel debris in the No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant (Provided by International Research Institute of Nuclear Decommissioning)

Work to remove melted nuclear fuel debris from the No. 2 reactor at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is expected to start in 2021, it was announced Aug. 8.

The plan, announced by the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corp., is part of the decommissioning of the plant, which experienced meltdowns at three reactors triggered by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

The corporation decided to remove debris from the No. 2 reactor first because radiation exposure to workers would be lower than at the other reactors and a route to transport equipment to where the debris is located has mostly been confirmed.

After the central government and the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., discuss the plan, it will be incorporated into the decommissioning schedule, which will be revised by the end of fiscal 2019.

A large amount of melted nuclear fuel debris is said to remain inside the pressure vessel at the No. 2 reactor.

Substances believed to be nuclear fuel debris were observed at the bottom of the containment vessel during previous investigations of the reactor.

According to the plan, after the debris has been extracted, it will be put in containers and transported to a storage facility at the power plant. The containers will be secured inside additional storage cans and temporarily stored at the facility.