By KEN BELSON - Published: June 24, 2011TOKYO - A 3.3-ton device that bedeviled the troubled Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor for nearly a year was removed on Friday morning, Japan's Atomic Energy Agency said.
The in-vessel transfer machine that crashed into the reactor's inner vessel last August had cut off access to the plutonium and uranium fuel rods and left the reactor in an uncertain state. Engineers had tried several times to retrieve the device, which was apparently jammed inside the reactor.
On Thursday night, the operators of the plant, which is in Fukui Prefecture about 300 miles west of Tokyo, finally removed the device along with a sleeve. The recovery work took more than eight hours, ending at 4:55 a.m. on Friday.
The agency said that it had confirmed that some equipment was damaged, as was expected, and that a more detailed inspection would be conducted when the liquid sodium used to cool the nuclear fuel was removed.
The reactor has been shut down and the spent fuel there is under control, the agency said. But it is unclear when the troubled reactor will be restarted, given the growing concerns about the safety of nuclear power plants in the wake of the troubles at the Daiichi plant in Fukushima.
Are you feeling secure ?You should not be !
Ak Malten, Pro Peaceful Energy Use
Workers Remove Device From Damaged Japanese Reactor
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