The owner of the Fukushima nuclear plant, destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami nearly eight years ago, said on Friday it planned tests early next year to see how much melted uranium fuel has cooled in the damaged reactors. The tests planned for January to March will stop water cooling in the reactors to analyze how the melted uranium core reacts and heats up after cooling has stopped, said owner Tokyo Electric Power Co. All reactors need to be cooled to limit the radioactive reactions that produce heat to generate electricity. At Fukushima, Tepco jury-rigged cooling systems after the quake and tsunami wrecked the plant in March 2011.
Reuters 9th Nov 2018 read more »