The Tokyo Electric Power Company announced on Sunday the successful removal of the “the largest and most complex piece of rubble” from the damaged Unit 3 reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi cleanup, enabling the clearing of remaining rubble and the rest of the 514 spent fuel assemblies in the pool. TEPCO successfully removed the facility’s 20-ton fuel handling machine (FHM), which was damaged in the March 2011 accident. According to TEPCO, the FHM securely lifted from the spent fuel pool and safely brought down on to the ground using two 600-ton cranes with a special hook and clamps. “The successful completion of this complex task is a credit to the hard work and collaborative spirit of many people from many organizations who have worked together,” TEPCO Chief Decommissioning Officer Naohiro Masuda said in a statement. “It paves the way for continued progress and is a milestone in reducing the risk of removing spent fuel assemblies. The workers should take satisfaction in this accomplishment even as we continue the work of decommissioning.”
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