For the first time, workers at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have removed a small amount of melted fuel from one of the damaged reactors, marking a significant step in the ongoing cleanup of the site.
The debris, retrieved from Reactor No. 2, was a pebble-sized substance weighing less than three grams.
This marks progress in the decades-long effort to decommission the plant following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Approximately 880 tons of fuel debris, including melted fuel rods and solidified material from reactors No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, still need to be cleaned up.
The Japanese government has stated that full-scale decommissioning work is approaching.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) confirmed the successful removal and transport of the material to the Japan Atomic Energy Agency for examination.
The process, which began two months ago, was briefly halted when a camera on the robotic arm failed, but operations resumed after repairs.
