OREANDA-NEWSJapan began to remove fuel rods in the third reactor of the nuclear power plant "Fukushima-1". As NHK TV and Radio Company notes, there are 514 highly radioactive spent and 52 unused fuel rods in the pool of the third reactor.  This is the first attempt to extract fuel from three reactors that melted after a disaster in 2011. To do this, TEPCO needed to clear radioactive debris and deactivate the upper floor of the building with a reactor containing a fuel pool.

Works are carried out with the help of a crane and a manipulator with a remote control. This is the first attempt to extract fuel from three reactors that melted after a disaster in 2011. Spent rods will be removed and placed in the cooling pool of another nuclear power plant. After checking the first batch of seven cores in June, work on their removal will be continued. Works are supposed to be completed in 2023. There are 1573 rods in just three NPP reactors.

On March 11, 2011, the destructive tsunami wave after an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 killed more than 1 thousand people. At the same time, an accident occurred at Fukushima NPP in Fukushima Prefecture, which caused a nuclear crisis in the country. The accident was recognized as the largest in 25 years after the Chernobyl disaster.

After the accident at the nuclear power plant, the area of ​​1.15 thousand square meters was contaminated. km In May 2012, almost 165 thousand people were evacuated from this zone. By the end of March 2016, works on decontamination of 11 cities and towns were completed, however, a high level of radiation still remains in the area of ​​369 square meters. km, it is considered completely forbidden. 

In the first, second and third reactors, nuclear fuel melted and accumulated at the bottom of the containment shell. In the first, third and fourth power units, the explosions of the generated hydrogen damaged or completely destroyed the roofs. This resulted in radiation leaks and contamination of a large area in the station area.