(UPDATED) TEPCO Is Removing "SPENT FUEL ASSEMBLIES" from #Fukushima I Nuke Plant Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Pool Today (11/26/2013)

(UPDATE-2) The second day of fuel assembly removal (11/27/2013). The work started at 9:30AM JST, according to TEPCO. On November 26, 2013, the workers removed six spent fuel assemblies into the cask in the cask pit inside the Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Pool. The work took about three hours - 30 minutes per one fuel assembly.

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(UPDATE) From TEPCO, the first spent fuel assembly from the pool was placed in the cask, at 3:21PM.

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Hardly anyone on the net in Japan is paying attention, as the bigger and more distressing (unless you are a staunch supporter of Liberal Democratic Party) news of the day is the passage of Secrecy Act in the special committee in the Lower House with overwhelming majority votes by LDP, Komei (the ruling coalition), and Your Party. Passage in the Lower House (where LDP alone holds majority) is expected in the afternoon.

Six groups of workers (6 workers each in a group) in two-hour rotations will remove 22 irradiated SPENT FUEL assemblies, according to Mainichi, unlike the first time when unused, new fuel assemblies were removed.

Just like the first time, the entire operation will be done under water. So far, no news of a sizeable earthquake, and hardly any news coverage of the event.

From TEPCO's alert for the press (11/26/2013):

The second removal of fuel assemblies from the Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Pool at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant is scheduled today.

Preparation started at 9AM.

At 10:56AM, the work started to move the container for the transfer of the fuel assemblies from the temporary storage location on the operating floor of Reactor 4 to the Spent Fuel Pool.

At 11:29AM, the container was placed at the bottom of the Spent Fuel Pool.


本日（11月26日）より福島第一原子力発電所４号機使用済燃料プールから２回目の燃料取り出し作業を行う予定としておりましたが、同日午前９時00分より準備作業に取りかかっております。

その後、午前10時56分、４号機オペレーティングフロア（原子炉建屋５階部分）の容器仕立ピットに仮置きしていた構内用輸送容器を、使用済燃料プールへ移動する作業を開始しました。

使用済燃料プールへ移動した構内用輸送容器については、午前11時29分に４号機使用済燃料プールの底へ着床しました。

Removal of the spent fuel assemblies may be starting just about now (3PM, JST).

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