A small drone flies into a damaged Fukushima nuclear reactor for the first time to study melted fuel

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — A small drone has flown inside one of the damaged reactors at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in hopes it can examine some of the molten fuel debris in areas where earlier robots failed to reach. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings has also begun releasing the fourth batch of the plant’s treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the sea. A magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami in March 2011 destroyed the plant’s power supply and cooling systems, causing triple meltdowns. The government and the plant operator plan to remove all melted fuel debris. That’s a daunting task expected to last decades.