Japan operator removes spent fuel from Fukushima reactor building
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Tokyo (dpa) - The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, that was the scene of Japan's worst nuclear accident, said Wednesday that it had completed the removal of all spent fuel from a reactor building.
Since November last year, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co has removed 1,331 spent fuel rod assemblies from a storage pool in reactor 4 at the Fukushima power station.
The pool, which is 30 metres above ground, had been left uncovered since a hydrogen explosion in 2011 blew off the upper part of the outer wall of the reactor building.
Experts had warned such spent fuel rods could trigger a major catastrophe after the plant suffered the triple meltdown, caused by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
The operator plans to take out the remaining 180 unused fuel assemblies from the building by the end of this year.
