A video of the performance test of the robot used in Unit 2 has been released for the removal of the so-called "fuel debris", the nuclear fuel that melted down in the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
The video was released on a robot arm developed in the United Kingdom, which is approximately 22 meters long and weighs approximately 4.6 tons.
Performance tests have been conducted at a facility in Kobe City since July last year, and training to check the operation when extending the arm and to pass a pipe with a diameter of about 50 cm, which is likened to the penetration part leading to the inside of the containment vessel of Unit 2. And so on.
A metal brush-like device is attached to the tip of the arm, and the plan is to rub the surface of the internal deposits to collect some of the fuel debris.
The removal of "fuel debris" from Units 1 to 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is considered to be the biggest obstacle in decommissioning, and TEPCO and the government plan to start from Unit 2, which is the most advanced investigation by the end of the year. ..
At the final adjustment stage, the robot performance test will be transferred to Naraha Town, Fukushima Prefecture, and operation training will be conducted in a situation that reproduces the actual site for about half a year.
Mr. Fumihiro Hosoe of the nuclear power segment of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which is conducting the test, said, "This is the world's first initiative and the difficulty is high, but I want to clear the technical issues step by step."
On the other hand, the investigation inside the containment vessel of Unit 1 was scheduled to start on the 12th of this month, but it was postponed due to equipment trouble, and there is no prospect of starting it.