Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report 2013

Video of the first day of fuel removal from Unit 4 spent fuel pool shows workers achieving major milestone

Fukushima, Japan, Nov. 19, 2013-Following a successful first day of fuel removal from the Unit 4 spent fuel pool at Fukushima Daiichi NPS, TEPCO announced today that they have started the second day of work.

On Monday, four fuel assemblies were loaded to the cask. The rest of a total of 18 assemblies is planned to be loaded today. A video of the first day of the fuel removal work can be seen at http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/library/movie-01e.html?bcpid=59368209002&bclid=347242463002&bctid=662021536002

The extraction work started at 9:00AM today, and has proceeded smoothly. Eight assemblies (totally 12) have already been loaded by 1:30PM. After the transport cask is filled with 22 fuel assemblies, it will be trucked to the nearby "common pool," a storage facility in a safer and undamaged building designed specifically for longer term storage. The precise transportation schedule is being withheld for security reasons, but TEPCO will announce each transport immediately after it is completed.

After the first cask of unused fuels is placed in the common pool, the work will pause for a scheduled safety review of procedures and methods. Any necessary refinements will be implemented in the next rounds of extractions. The removal of all fuel inside the Unit 4 spent fuel pool is planned to take until the end of 2014.

Photos and video of the first day work:
http://photo.tepco.co.jp/en/date/2013/201311-e/131118-01.html

Press release explaining the start of fuel removal:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2013/1232272_5130.html

President Hirose's comments regarding the start of fuel removal:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html

Video explaining the removal process/Dr. Klein's comments and material explaining the overview of the task:
http://photo.tepco.co.jp/en/date/2013/201310-e/131030-02e.html

The encompassing safety measures towards the assumable risks of the task:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_131115_03-e.pdf (PDF 48.4KB)

TEPCO, Inc. is a provider of electricity to the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo and Yokohama. The company is headquartered in Tokyo. For more information, please go to http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html.