Call for patience as Fukushima nuclear plant clean-up proceeds at snail’s pace

Thirteen years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster, progress on its decommissioning and the decontaminating of thousands of hectares of land across northeast Japan is proceeding at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Previous estimates have indicated the work could take around 30 to 40 years. However, experts working insist that caution is paramount, especially as they deploy experimental technologies such as robots capable of operating in high-radiation environments.

“This is not a race but a structured, careful and stepwise approach which at every stage requires you to take time, determine the best strategy and guarantee both short-term and long-term safety,” said Vincent Gorgues, chief of staff to the French high commissioner for nuclear energy who is one of three international advisers working with the Japanese authorities.

“Robots and drones have been developed specifically for investigations in reactor buildings,” he said.

“Each access path is unique … problems with cable deployment or blockages are, under these conditions, one of the ‘normal’ hazards.”

Hisanori Nei, a professor of energy policy at Tokyo’s National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, said the work being undertaken at Fukushima was the first ever of its kind ever attempted in history and as such, experimental approaches and technologies would inevitably be used.

“There have been several issues that have been troublesome but they are slowly being overcome and so far the situation at the plant remains under control,” Nei said.

“Removing the melted debris is the biggest challenge at the site and, based on the experience gained after the accident at Three Mile Island [in Pennsylvania in 1979], it will take at least 30 years and the development of a range of new technologies, such as robotics,” he said.

Putting a more accurate timeline on the completion of the work was impossible, especially as the retrieval plan had not been proven in the field, Gorgues said.

“Having an end date is secondary to having in the short- or medium-term, say three to seven years, reliable solutions for the removal of the spent fuel and fuel debris for each of the three units,” he added.

The delays remained minor and there have been several key achievements, including the removal of all the accessible fuel rods from two of the damaged reactors, a reduction in the water flowing into the basements of the reactor buildings, and decontamination of the areas immediately around the reactors.

Gorgues advised the public not to just focus on the 30- or 40-year timeline for the clean-up work at Fukushima.

“It is important to remember that this is just a target, not a commitment or a deadline … What has already been done is a remarkable achievement.”

This is not a race but a structured, careful and stepwise approach VINCENT GORGUES, FRENCH NUCLEAR EXPERT AND ADVISER TO TOKYO