Inside a meltdown-hit Fukushima reactor building

Seven years on, Tepco aims to pull fuel out of Unit 3's rubble-strewn pool

A crane and dome-shaped roof have been erected on the top floor of Fukushima Daiichi's No. 3 building, in preparation for removing rods and rubble from the spent fuel pool. (Photo by Shinya Sawai)

SHIORI GOSO, Nikkei staff writer

February 17, 2018 11:00 JST

FUKUSHIMA, Japan -- As the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster unfolded in March 2011, a hydrogen explosion ripped through the No. 3 reactor unit. Nearly seven years on, steel framing and other debris still litter the spent fuel pool, along with 566 fuel rods.