Investigation inside the Reactor Primary Containment Vessel (“PCV”)

Over the period from April 10 to 20, 2015, a pre-investigation was conducted for the purpose of locating where melted fuels have been dropped in the PCV and identifying the condition of them including the form. In which, for the first time since the accident, robots were inserted into the damaged PCV to capture images of the internal conditions. The robot, which is a collective wisdom of Japan, worked so hard in this investigation to bring us vital information, i.e. images, radiation doses, and temperature inside the PCV. Inserting of robots into the PCV performed this time has been such an unprecedented challenge to the nuclear industry, and we believe that the fact that critical data was gained from the investigation have made a great step forward in the decommissioning operation to continue at the plant. At the same time, through piling up -one by one- each of the data obtained this time, we will get the most out of it for future decommissioning activities.

*This investigation is conducted within the site test “Investigation B1” on grating around the pedestal inside Unit 1 PCV in the “Development of a technology to investigate inside the Reactor Primary Containment Vessel (PCV)” by the International Research Institute for Nuclear Decommissioning (IRID).