Removal of cover over Fukushima Daiichi unit 1 begins

Wednesday, 29 July 2015

The operation to remove the temporary cover over the damaged reactor building of unit 1 at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant began yesterday.

The first panel is removed from unit 1's cover (Image: Tepco)

Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) announced that it had removed the first of six roof panels from the cover using a remotely-controlled crane. Each panel is some 7 meters wide and 42 meters long.

The cover - installed in October 2011 to prevent the dispersal of radioactive materials - is to be dismantled to enable rubble to be taken down from the top of the building in preparation for the removal of fuel from the unit's used fuel pool.

Tepco began preparations for its removal last October, which included drilling holes into the cover and spraying an agent to suppress dust scattering. The company temporarily removed one of the roof panels to check the efficiency of the dust suppressant.

The operation to remove the cover had originally been scheduled to start last July. However, it was postponed owing to a problem with a device that controls the circulation of air within the building, as well as a problem with the crane.

The removal of the cover is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year. Tepco will then install equipment for handling the used fuel before strengthening the surrounding area for heavy machinery and rebuilding a new version of the cover. The entire process is planned to continue for about four years before the removal of used fuel actually begins.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News