Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report 2017

Report provides a summary of developments from January through March

TOKYO, May 10 - The use of robotics to conduct explorations of the interior of reactor units at Fukushima Daiichi, together with the controversy over the results of seismic testing on a building at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPS, highlighted the latest quarterly progress report from TEPCO, released today.

The report summarizes the results, as well as the challenges, associated with the robotic explorations of the Unit 1 and Unit 2 reactors earlier this year. Those results had been reported earlier and in detail by TEPCO, including the obstacles faced by the "Scorpion" robot in Unit 2 as it attempted to reach the pedestal area. Both robots returned important data about conditions inside the reactors that will aid in the further work to determine the location and condition of the fuel debris.

The report also acknowledges the shortcomings associated with TEPCO's report of the testing of the ability of a building at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, intended to be seismically isolated, to withstand an earthquake of a certain magnitude. The report acknowledges that TEPCO had not reported the results appropriately or shared with the local community that it had changed its plans in a way that made the seismic resistance of that building less critical.

As with previous quarterly reports, this one also reports progress against the many elements of the Nuclear Safety Reform Plan, a comprehensive plan adopted in 2013. These elements include management, training, oversight, emergency response, communications, and more.

A summary of the Q4 report is available at http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu17_e/images/170510e0101.pdf.

The full report is available at http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu17_e/images/170510e0102.pdf.

About TEPCO
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)
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