Japan marks 15 years since Fukushima disaster as fuel sampling nears

Fifteen years after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) has advanced its cleanup efforts by deploying a new 3-meter robotic arm to investigate and retrieve melted fuel debris from the damaged reactors. This robotic system, weighing about 4.6 tons, is designed to access narrow spaces inside the reactors, inspect internal structures, and collect radioactive debris samples. Earlier in 2024, engineers successfully extracted a soft, crumbly piece of melted fuel using a telescopic robot, alleviating concerns that the fuel had solidified into an unbreakable mass. The data gathered by the robotic arm will inform the planned large-scale fuel removal, which is expected to begin around 2037 and will likely cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Despite progress in decommissioning, significant challenges remain, including the unresolved issue of where to store the radioactive waste. Experts emphasize the importance of cautious, well-informed steps to ensure