TEPCO won't take Chernobyl approach to resolving nuclear power plant crisis

[godai]

It may take 10 years to start removing damaged nuclear fuel from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, but the plant's operator is adamant not to bury the damaged reactors while fuel remains in them, a company official has told the Mainichi.

"We will not bury the site while radioactive materials remain. We will definitely remove the fuel," Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) adviser Toshiaki Enomoto told the Mainichi in an interview, stressing that the company would not bury the reactors in concrete in a "stone tomb" approach like the one adopted at Chernobyl.

A facility to purify contaminated water responsible for radioactive leaks to a level where it can be released will be constructed from this month. At the same time measures will proceed to have radioactive material contained within the reactor buildings within a few months, Enomoto said. At this stage, evacuation orders applying to local bodies around the plant are expected to be reviewed.

Enomoto said nuclear fuel at the plant could not be removed using conventional methods for two reasons: The reactor buildings are damaged, and measures are needed to prevent the spread of radiation; and 25 to 70 percent damage has occurred to the fuel rods in the No. 1, 2 and 3 reactors. New methods to remove the fuel must be developed, and it will take 10 years before workers can start removing fuel, he said.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110408p2a00m0na005000c.html