IAEA Completes Review Of Japans Plans To Decommission Fukushima Nuclear Power Station - UrduPoint

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts on Friday completed a two-month review of Japan's plans to decommission the defunct Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

"The fifth International Peer Review of Japan's Mid-and-Long-Term Roadmap Towards the Decommissioning of TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station took place from 30 June to 27 August, with a combination of online discussions, face to face meetings in Vienna and Tokyo and a visit to the site of the plant in eastern Japan," the IAEA stated.

The expert team noted progress in moving from an emergency to a stable situation and the improvement of site conditions, including establishment of new waste management facilities and a decline in the generation of contaminated water, the IAEA said.

Many challenges of the decommissioning are yet to be tackled, including managing nuclear fuel debris from the damaged reactors, Christophe Xerri, Director of the IAEA's Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology, who presided over the expert group, stated.

"A successful decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi in the coming two or three decades will require disciplined programme and project management to deal with significant risks and uncertainties, a continued focus on safety culture and further scientific and technological developments," Xerri added.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility experienced core meltdowns as a result of the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The 2011 accident was the worst at a nuclear power plant since the Chernobyl accident a quarter of a century earlier. SPUTNIK