Removal of nuclear debris to begin at No. 2 reactor of Japan's Fukushima plant - SFChronicle.com

Removal of nuclear debris to begin at No. 2 reactor of Japan's Fukushima plant - SFChronicle.com: The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. on Monday released a draft plan to revise the road map for decommissioning the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, stating that the work of removing nuclear fuel debris will first begin at the plant's No. 2 reactor. The removal of nuclear fuel debris, which is a mixture of melted nuclear fuel and materials inside the nuclear reactors, is considered a central part of the decommissioning. Removal is scheduled to start by the end of 2021. The government and the company will ask local governments and experts for their opinions on the draft plan. The government will decide on the revision at a meeting of relevant government ministers later this fiscal year. Formulated in December 2011, the road map has been periodically reviewed by the government and other relevant entities based on the progress of the work. This is the fifth revision since September 2017. The latest draft plan was presented at a meeting of the decommissioning and contaminated water task force held at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday. The plan to remove debris from the No. 2 reactor is based on a strategic plan of the Nuclear Damage Compensation and De