New Images Show How Damaged Fukushima Nuclear Reactors Are

New Images Show How Damaged Fukushima Nuclear Reactors² Are

A robot captured images inside one of the three severely³ damaged reactors at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power center.

The Fukushima center was damaged by a powerful earthquake and tsunami⁴ that struck eastern Japan on March 11, 2011.

The latest images showed that metal in the main support structure and parts of a wall were severely damaged or missing. The images raise concerns about the plant's earthquake resistance in case of another disaster.

The plant's operator is Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO). The company has been sending robots inside the Unit 1 main containment⁵ structure since last year. The containment structure surrounds the nuclear reactor¹.

The new video images released Tuesday were taken at the end of March.

An underwater vehicle was sent inside the Unit 1 pedestal, a supporting structure under the core, or center of the reactor. The vehicle returned with images of an area seen for the first time since the plant was destroyed 12 years ago. The area inside the structure is where some of the melted nuclear fuel is likely to be found.

The robot took a five-minute video and 39 images. It showed that the 120-centimeter-thick wall outside of the pedestal was severely damaged near its bottom.

Keisuke Matsuo is the TEPCO spokesperson. He told reporters Tuesday the company plans to gather more data and images over the next several months. The company hopes to find out if and how the reactor's earthquake resistance can be improved.

The images of the exposed metal support structure have caused concerns about the reactor's safety. About 880 tons of highly radioactive melted nuclear fuel remain inside the three reactors.

Robots have provided some information, but the condition of the melted debris⁶ is still largely unknown. The amount is about 10 times the damaged fuel that was removed in the cleanup of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant. The plant in the United States had a partial meltdown in 1979.

Masao Uchibori is the Fukushima governor. He urged TEPCO to measure "levels of earthquake resistance and provide information" to ease the "concern of the residents and people around the country."

The video taken by the robot showed equipment and material that fell down. It also showed other kinds of substances, possibly nuclear fuel, that fell from the core and hardened. The material piled as high as 40 to 50 centimeters from the bottom of the containment structure, Matsuo said.

However, the pile is lower than piles seen in images taken in earlier studies at two other damaged reactors. That suggests that the meltdowns in each of the affected⁷ reactors may have progressed differently, company officials said.

Matsuo said the new data will help experts decide how to remove the material and to study the 2011 meltdowns. TEPCO also plans to use the data to create a detailed⁸ map of melted fuel and material, which would take about a year.

Based on data collected from earlier studies, experts have said most of the melted fuel inside Unit 1 fell to the bottom of the main containment structure. But some might have even fallen through into the concrete foundation. That would make the already difficult job of removing the melted fuel even harder.

An earlier attempt to remove melted material from Unit 2 is expected to begin later this year after a two-year delay. Used fuel removal from the Unit 1 reactor's cooling pool is to start in 2027 after a 10-year delay. After all the used fuel is removed, the other melted materials can be removed from the reactors starting in 2031.

Words in This Story

(nuclear) reactor — n. a complex device that produces nuclear energy through fission⁹ using radioactive fuel

tsunami — n. a powerful and damaging ocean wave caused by an undersea earthquake

radioactive — n. releasing a lot of radiation caused by atomic activity in some chemical elements

debris –n. pieces that are left after something is destroyed

resident — n. a person who normally lives in a place

pile — v. to place a group of things on top of one another

foundation — n. the base on which everything in a building or similar structure is built

1 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

2 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

3 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

4 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

5 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

6 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

9 fission   

n.裂开；分裂生殖

参考例句：

• The fission of the cell could be inhibited with certain chemicals.细胞的裂变可以通过某些化学药品加以抑制。
• Nuclear fission releases tremendous amounts of energy.核裂变释放出巨大的能量。