subscribe Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Subscribe now
The Fukushima nuclear reactor after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Picture: REUTERS
The Fukushima nuclear reactor after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Picture: REUTERS

Tokyo — Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has suspended preparation work for the test removal of nuclear fuel debris from the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant, a company spokesperson says.

The preparatory work was suspended due to an error in the installation of the extraction equipment and it was unclear when the work, the first of its kind since the accident in 2011, could resume, he said.

The work was initially planned to start in 2021, but was pushed back due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the spokesperson.

The debris, which consisted of nuclear fuel and parts of the plant’s infrastructure, was estimated to weigh about 880 tonnes and was still radioactive, public broadcaster NHK said.

“The trial removal of nuclear fuel debris is the most important phase of the decommissioning process, so it is necessary to proceed with extremely safely,” NHK quoted Tepco president Tomoaki Kobayakawa as saying on Thursday.

Last August, Tepco started to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima plant, part of the decommissioning process, which resulted in a ban of Japanese seafood imports by China, Japan’s top seafood buyer at a time.

Russia has followed China to ban seafood imports from Japan over safety concerns that Tokyo has said are scientifically unjustified.

Reuters

subscribe Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Subscribe now

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.