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Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Fukushima begins operation to remove radioactive debris

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 10 Sep 2024 11:29
2 Min Read

Robots are being utilized to collect samples that provide insights into the conditions inside the reactors, a crucial step in the decommissioning process of the plant struck by the tsunami in Japan 13 years ago.

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  • An aerial view of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Tepco has begun an operation to remove radioactive debris from inside its reactors using robots. Photograph: AP
    An aerial view of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Tepco has begun an operation to remove radioactive debris from inside its reactors using robots. (AP)

The challenging task of removing a small amount of radioactive debris from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant has commenced, following a delay caused by technical issues during an earlier attempt.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) announced on Tuesday that it has initiated its “pilot extraction operation,” which is expected to take about two weeks. This initial extraction will involve a small sample to help understand conditions inside the reactors, a crucial step in the decommissioning process for the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Approximately 880 tons of highly hazardous material remain at the site, 13 years after a tsunami triggered by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake led to one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. The removal of this debris is considered the most formidable challenge in the decades-long decommissioning effort.

Tepco had initially planned to begin this first trial removal on August 22, aiming to collect just three grams (0.1 ounces) of debris for analysis. However, the company had to halt the operation at an early stage due to issues with the installation of the necessary equipment.

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Dive deeper

When the tsunami struck on March 11, 2011, three of Fukushima plant’s six reactors were operational and subsequently went into meltdown. The radiation levels within the debris are so intense that Tepco had to design specialized robots to operate in the environment.

In preparation for the debris removal, Tepco deployed two mini-drones and a “snake-shaped robot” into one of the reactors in February.

Additionally, Japan began discharging treated wastewater from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean last year, leading to a diplomatic dispute with China and Russia, as well as other regional countries. Both countries have imposed bans on Japanese seafood imports, although Tokyo maintains that the discharge is safe, a stance supported by the IAEA.

In a bid to boost local produce, Tepco also initiated a campaign promoting Fukushima-grown food. This past Saturday, London’s Harrods department store started selling peaches from the Fukushima region. 

Read more: Japan begins dump of Fukushima wastewater into ocean

  • TEPCO
  • Japan
  • Fukushima
  • Russia
  • China
  • radioactive debris
  • Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant

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Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

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