Images taken deep inside melted Fukushima reactor show damage, but leave many questions unanswered

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Images taken by miniature drones from deep inside a badly damaged reactor at the Fukushima nuclear plant show displaced control equipment and misshapen materials but leave many questions unanswered, underscoring the daunting task of decommissioning the plant. The photos released by the plant’s operator are the first from inside the main structural support called the pedestal in the reactor’s primary containment vessel, an area directly under the core. Officials had long hoped to reach the area to examine melted nuclear fuel which dripped there when the plant was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. About 880 tons of highly radioactive nuclear fuel remain inside three damaged reactors.