A video with an inspection of the interior of the first reactor of the Fukushima-1 emergency nuclear power plant has been published by the Japanese energy company Tokyo Electric Power. The video was filmed by a special robot. The images show deposits of molten nuclear fuel 40 to 50 cm thick.
The deposits consist of the molten fuel itself and debris from the reactor. The high level of radiation affected the shot: significant digital noise is noticeable on the frames.
It turned out that the concrete base of the reactor had completely collapsed, exposing the reinforcement. Company specialists believe that this happened due to the high temperature of the melted nuclear fuel. Researchers believe that this entire structure is unstable to seismic activity.
This is the first significant study of the interior of the first reactor since the accident in March 2011. Then a powerful tsunami hit the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant after a strong earthquake. Due to the impact of the elements, the station’s power supply and cooling system failed, after a series of explosions, a radiation leak occurred.
Nuclear fuel has melted in the reactors of three power stations. It burned through the protective shells. A large volume of radioactive substances was released and areas adjacent to the station became contaminated. The disaster was assigned the seventh highest level on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). The earthquake, tsunami and accident killed around 20,000 people.
Molten nuclear fuel and reactor debris removed by robot from under Fukushima-1’s first reactor
