This image was taken a drone and provided by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings shows displaced equipment and misshapen materials inside the No. 1 reactor as a drone probes the inside of the worst-hit reactor at the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, on March 14, 2024.
About 880 tons of highly radioactive melted nuclear fuel remain inside the three damaged reactors. TEPCO is attempting to learn more about its location and condition to facilitate its removal so the plant can be decommissioned. TEPCO officials said they were unable to tell from the images whether the dangling lumps were melted fuel or melted equipment without obtaining other data such as radiation levels. The drones did not carry dosimeters to measure radiation because they had to be lightweight and maneuverable.
But the large amount that remains unknown about the interior of the reactors suggests how difficult it will be. Critics say the 30-40 year target for the plant's cleanup set by the government and TEPCO is overly optimistic.