Top > Releases ･ Announcements > Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report > 2016 > Recent Topics:MUON EXAMINATION OF UNIT 2 FUEL DEBRIS STATUS ANALYZED: MOST FUEL DEBRIS APPEARS TO HAVE REMAINED WITHIN PRESSURE VESSEL
Further steps will be taken to prepare for robotic examination
TOKYO, July 28, 2016-Analysis of the recently conducted muon examination of fuel debris in Unit 2 has concluded that most of the fuel that melted and resolidified remained within the reactor pressure vessel.
Location of some of the fuel debris could not be determined conclusively, so examination of the fuel debris status in Unit 2 will continue with remote-controlled robots. Once the inside of the reactor is ready for the robots, they will explore inside the Unit 2 primary containment vessel to determine how the fuel reached the outside of the pressure vessel before it cooled and solidified.
Determination of the conditions and precise location of the fuel debris is necessary before actually removing it, a central goal of the decontamination and decommissioning process.
The most recent analysis indicated that, of the fuel debris clearly identified within the RPV, the largest portion, approximately 160 tons, had fallen to the bottom. Only 20-50 tons remain in the reactor core, and another 70-100 tons remain in the upper part of the RPV.
For more information about the muon study, go to http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2016/images/handouts_160728_01-e.pdf.
About TEPCO Holdings Group
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO Holdings) is Japan's largest power company group, holding three independent business entities: TEPCO Fuel & Power, Inc., TEPCO Power Grid, Inc., and TEPCO Energy Partner, Inc. As a group, it generates, distributes, and sells electricity and other types of energy principally to the Kanto metropolitan area, which includes Japan's two most populous cities, Tokyo and Yokohama. Its 33,000 employees are committed to providing safe, reliable power to its 29 million customers as well as fulfilling its responsibilities to the communities of Fukushima. (As of April 1, 2016)
TEPCO Website: http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html
TEPCO Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialTEPCOen
TEPCO Twitter page: https://twitter.com/TEPCO_English
© Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.
