Fuel retrieval at Fukushima to start in 10 years

[NNN0LHI]

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/28_31.html

updated at 14:38 UTC, Oct. 28

Japan's Atomic Energy Commission says it aims to start retrieving melted nuclear fuel rods from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant within 10 years. snip

The vessels will then be filled with water to block radiation released from the melted fuel.

The commission also plans to start moving spent fuel rods from pools at the No.1 to No.4 reactors to another pool in the plant within 3 years. This will take place after the reactors achieve a state of cold shutdown.

The report projects that the decommissioning will take more than 30 years to complete.

[MineralMan]

1. That timing sounds about right. Cleaning this up is a generation's

worth of work. What a disaster!

[hobbit709]

2. too hot to handle until then

And the radiation is too much for even ROV's electronics to handle.

[TheWraith]

3. Actually the heat is already almost negligible, down below 100 degrees C.

That's about 212 degrees F. What they're no doubt concerned about is the fact that they'll need to open up the reactor vessel to get at the rods. For maximum safety, they'll want to leave that until after all of the most dangerous short-lived isotopes burn themselves out.

[hobbit709]

4. I wasn't talking heat. hot as in radiation levels.

having worked with radioactive substances, that's what we called it.