U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said the U.S. is willing to help with the cleanup and decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, and the plant’s operator said it would work with the U.S., according to the Associated Press.
TEPCO President Naomi Hirose said in the article the agreement with the DOE was made during Moniz’s recent trip to inspect the Fukushima plant. Moniz reportedly inspected the Unit 4 pool area, as well as contaminated water storage tanks, water treatment units and other facilities, the article said.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority approved Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) Oct. 30 to begin the removal of fuel rods from Unit 4 at Fukushima. The fuel rods are scheduled for removal starting in mid-November.
TEPCO has been under fire for a series of mishaps at the plant, including storage tanks that were leaking radioactive water into the ocean and overflowing storage tanks, which were caused by human error.
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