TEPCO placed a robot directly under the reactor of Unit 1 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which suffered a meltdown, for the first time since the accident, and took images of sediments believed to be "nuclear fuel debris" mixed with melted nuclear fuel and structures, and released them. In the survey, it was found that the reinforced concrete foundation that supports the reactor was broken in about half of the area, exposing the reinforcing bars, so TEPCO decided to analyze again to see if there were any problems with earthquake resistance.
At Unit 1 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, an investigation is being conducted inside the containment vessel, which is believed to contain "nuclear fuel debris" that has melted from the reactor.
Since water has accumulated at the bottom of the containment vessel, the survey was conducted using an underwater robot, and on the 29th, the robot was placed inside a cylindrical base made of reinforced steel concrete called a "pedestal" directly under the reactor, and the images taken were released on the 30th.
Images taken at the bottom show the lumpy lumpy sediments that appear to be "nuclear fuel debris," and you can see that rod-shaped structures are stuck into the sediments.
This situation is confirmed by images taken from the outside of the pedestal released earlier on the 29th, and TEPCO believes that the rod-shaped structure may have fallen from the reactor along with the nuclear fuel.
In addition, previous surveys have confirmed that concrete has collapsed in parts of the "pedestal" and the reinforcing bars are exposed, but in the images taken this time, it was also confirmed that the reinforcing bars were exposed in several places and some parts were deformed.
TEPCO says that at least half of the area is damaged, and that it will analyze again to see if there are any problems with earthquake resistance.