Tepco begins long-delayed probe of Fukushima reactor's interior

Workers wearing protective suits and masks conduct a decommissioning operation at the No. 2 reactor building of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, in January. Tokyo - Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings on Friday started inspections of the interior of the meltdown-stricken No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, inserting a robotic arm into the containment vessel. The company aims to better understand conditions inside the reactor at the plant in Fukushima Prefecture, as it plans to extract some nuclear fuel debris on a trial basis. The work is expected to take about half a year. According to Tepco, the latest operation involves cutting some rails and cables that could obstruct the robotic arm's entry with high-pressure water jets and collecting 3D data and images from inside the containment vessel.