The Japanese government entrusts Onet Technologies with a study and tests for the dismantling of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant
Onet Technologies and CEA are developing scenarios and testing remote-controlled cutting and evacuation systems for the Control Rod Drive Housing (CRD-H) at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan.
These CRD-Hs are positioned beneath the reactor vessels. They were damaged during the accident in March 2011 and are currently located in an area that is extremely difficult to access due to their location, the amount of clutter and the very high level of radioactivity.
The cutting and removal of CRD-H is a real technical challenge. The existence of a solution must be secured through specific study and testing.
This is the aim of the project entrusted to us by MRI, with funding from METI (the Japanese government).
The aim is to study the feasibility and development of the technologies required for this future large-scale operation, drawing on France's recognized expertise in remote-controlled dismantling operations. The project will last 1 year.
What are CRD-Hs?
The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant following the tsunami in Japan in March 2011 caused considerable damage, including the melting of reactor cores.
As part of the overall dismantling of the plant, it will be necessary to recover the molten fuel (corium), some of which has pierced the bottom of the vessels.
The CRD-H is a piece of equipment positioned under the boiling water reactor (BWR) vessel at Fukushima Daiichi, and used to support the reactor control rods (CRD). Their considerable dimensions block access to the lower part of the vessels, and their removal is therefore a prerequisite for large-scale corium recovery operations.
With this new project, Onet Technologies confirms its expertise in dismantling scenario studies and in the use of laser cutting under the most extreme conditions.
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