A robot sent to the reactor in Fukushima to inspect and clean the nuclear plant was forced to abruptly end its mission after being exposed to excessive radiation, which “fried” its camera.
According to the Associated Press, it was the first time a robot had entered the Unit 2 reactor since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The cleaning robot was decommissioned after just two hours from its deployment after it had endured an estimated radiation of 650 sieverts per hour, according to the analysis of image noise transmitted from the robot before its camera went dark. The robot is designed for up to 1,000 sieverts cumulative exposure.
The Associated Press reports that this level of radiation kills a human being instantly. As soon as the cameras started malfunctioning, the team decided to pull the robot back before it lost control completely. Images taken from the chamber before the robot's damage showed layers of melted paint, the insulation of the cables, and metal cages.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said that the robot was developed to observe and clean the diode with a high‑pressure water nozzle and thus the team could send another robot to assess structural damage. Pulling the first robot early means the monitoring machine will have more work to do in less time, since both robots are designed to withstand the same amount of radiation.
The high levels of radiation may seem alarming, but there is good news: there are no reports of new leaks from the plant. This means that the radiation should not affect the nearby inhabited areas. The higher levels of radiation could also indicate that the robot went closer to the exact point of the radiation source, and thus the next one to be sent has a better chance of correctly removing the melted fuel.
