Robots enter Fukushima reactor building for first time

17.04.2011
A pair of remote controlled robots entered a reactor building at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Sunday morning for the first time.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power is hoping the iRobot Packbots will be able to provide data on the current condition inside the buildings, parts of which contain high levels of radioactivity and are hazardous for workers to enter.

The robots entered the plant's number 3 reactor building and were due to take radiation and temperature readings. They are equipped with video cameras that can provide a live feed to operators.

Photos released by Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) showed one of the robots manipulating a handle on the second of a pair of double doors that lead into the reactor building. ()

TEPCO has yet to release any information about what the robots found inside the building. If the mission proves a success, the robots will also be used inside the adjacent reactor buildings 1 and 2 at the plant.

The plant owner has been wrestling to bring the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant under control for just over a month since a tsunami, estimated at 14 meters high, slammed into the facility and damaging its cooling system. Subsequent explosions have damaged three of the reactor buildings and spread radioactive contamination into the surrounding environment.