Fukushima: robot images show massive deposits thought to be melted nuclear fuel
Robot spots suspected debris of melted fuel for first time since 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed the plant
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://assets.guim.co.uk/stylesheets/4481fe4e6c64249037ddc5549980916b/content.css"/>
Associated Press
Saturday 22 July 2017 21.02 EDTLast modified on Sunday 23 July 2017 06.16 EDT
Images captured by an underwater robot on Saturday showed massive deposits believed to be melted nuclear fuel covering the floor of a damaged reactor at Japan’s destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant.
The robot found large amounts of solidified lava-like rocks and lumps in layers as thick as 1m on the bottom inside a main structure called the pedestal that sits underneath the core inside the primary containment vessel of Fukushima’s Unit 3 reactor, said the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co.

Dying robots and failing hope: Fukushima clean-up falters six years after tsunami
Exploration work inside the nuclear plant’s failed reactors has barely begun, with the scale of the task described as ‘almost beyond comprehension’
Read more
On Friday, the robot spotted suspected debris of melted fuel for the first time since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused multiple meltdowns and destroyed the plant. The three-day investigation of Unit 3 ended on Saturday.
Locating and analysing the fuel debris and damage in each of the plant’s three wrecked reactors is crucial for decommissioning the plant. The search for melted fuel in the two other reactors has so far been unsuccessful because of damage and extremely high radiation levels.

Inside the pedestal of reactor No. 3 at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan. The operator is using an underwater robot to inspect damage suffered in a tsunami-induced meltdown. Photograph: Supplied/AFP/Getty Images
During this week’s probe, cameras mounted on the robot showed extensive damage caused by the core meltdown, with fuel debris mixed with broken reactor parts, suggesting the difficult challenges ahead in the decades-long decommissioning of the plant.
TEPCO spokesman Takahiro Kimoto said it would take time to analyse the debris in the images to figure out removal methods.
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.
I appreciate there not being a paywall: it is more democratic for the media to be available for all and not a commodity to be purchased by a few. I’m happy to make a contribution so others with less means still have access to information. Thomasine F-R.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps to support it, our future would be much more secure.

보수적인 성향의 가디언지의 보도입니다.
영어 짧은 내가 번역하면 오역의 가능성이 있어 원글 그대로 옮깁니다.
동영상도 있는데 긴 분량이 아니니 직접 보시길 권합니다.
밑에 보면 여기도 돈! 이걸 좀 후원해달랍니다.
또 씁쓸합니다.