Fukushima Watch: Near-Complete Meltdown Confirmed at Reactor 2
byJun Hongo
Wall Street Journal
An aerial view of Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s9501.TO -0.61% Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on March 11, 2015, the fourth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that led to a nuclear disaster.
Researchers at Nagoya University and Toshiba Corp.6502.TO -0.66% said they have confirmed that at least 70% of nuclear fuel inside one of the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant melted down following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The team had said in March that it was able to use muons, which are particles that fall on earth from space and are deflected by nuclear materials, to examine the content inside reactor 2.
Further study confirmed that 70% to 100% of the fuel inside the reactor has melted, a Toshiba spokeswoman said.
The team had been comparing how muon particles deflected when passing through reactor 5, which wasn’t heavily damaged after the quake, and reactor 2.
The conclusion was largely expected, as nearly all the nuclear fuel in reactors 1 and 3 was also found to have melted. Tokyo Electric Power Co. in March said it confirmed a complete meltdown at reactor 1 after using muon particles.
Tepco has said it plans to start removing nuclear debris from the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi in 2021.
