Photo/Illutration Fuel debris retrieved from the No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant (Provided by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency)

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency on Dec. 26 released images of nuclear fuel debris retrieved from the No. 2 reactor at the disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The analysis revealed that the first piece of debris contained uranium and zirconium, a metal used in the cladding that encases fuel rods.

JAEA said the debris was formed from melted nuclear fuel and reactor components that solidified.

In November, Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the plant, extracted a sample of radioactive rubble from the bottom of the containment vessel of the No. 2 reactor. It was there that the core melted down following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

JAEA has been analyzing the sample at a facility in Ibaraki Prefecture.

According to the agency, radioactive materials, such as europium and americium, which are produced by the fission reaction of uranium, were also found.

The debris measures around 9 millimeters by 7 mm and weighs 0.69 gram. It has a rough texture and is mostly reddish-brown, with some black or glossy areas.

Radiation levels measured about 1 to 2 centimeters from the debris were roughly 8 millisieverts per hour.

TEPCO said on Dec. 26 that it would conduct additional retrieval of melted fuel debris from the No. 2 reactor next spring.

As with the first removal of the sample, a fishing rod-shaped device will be used. 

A retrieval procedure using a robotic arm that was initially scheduled for this fiscal year has been postponed to the latter half of fiscal 2025.

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