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11 years later, fate of Fukushima reactor cleanup uncertain

In this image made from video provided by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), Akira Ono, chief decommissioning officer, president of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, speaks during an online interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Ono said in a recent online interview that robotic probes at Unit 1 and 2 this year are a major "step forward" in the decades-long cleanup. (TEPCO via AP) Futaba Mayor Shiro Izawa speaks during a news conference in Iwaki, Japan, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Izawa says the Fukushima Daiichi plant must be safely and fully decommissioned "to make our hometown a safe and livable place again." (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant sits in coastal towns of both Okuma and Futaba, as seen from the Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Eleven years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was ravaged by a meltdown following a massive earthquake and tsunami, the plant now looks like a sprawling construction site. Most of the radioactive debris blasted by the hydrogen explosions has been cleared and the torn buildings have been fixed. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant sits in coastal towns of both Okuma and Futaba, as seen from the Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Eleven years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was ravaged by a meltdown following a massive earthquake and tsunami, the plant now looks like a sprawling construction site. Most of the radioactive debris blasted by the hydrogen explosions has been cleared and the torn buildings have been fixed. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) A lab technician uses a pair of smart glasses as she demonstrates a part of a process to measure levels of tritium in water samples at one of the two laboratories at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. TEPCO and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, is inseparable from the water, but all other 63 radioactive isotopes selected for treatment can be reduced to safe levels, tested and further diluted by seawater before release. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) A lab technician wearing a pair of smart glasses demonstrates a part of a process to measure levels of tritium in water samples at one of the two laboratories at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. TEPCO and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, is inseparable from the water, but all other 63 radioactive isotopes selected for treatment can be reduced to safe levels, tested and further diluted by seawater before release. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) A lab technician wearing a pair of smart glasses demonstrates a part of a process to measure levels of tritium in water samples at one of the two laboratories at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. TEPCO and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, is inseparable from the water, but all other 63 radioactive isotopes selected for treatment can be reduced to safe levels, tested and further diluted by seawater before release. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) A lab technician wears a pair of smart glasses as he demonstrates a part of a process to measure levels of tritium in water samples at one of the two laboratories at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. TEPCO and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, is inseparable from the water, but all other 63 radioactive isotopes selected for treatment can be reduced to safe levels, tested and further diluted by seawater before release. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) Lab technicians demonstrate a part of a process to measure levels of tritium in water samples at one of the two laboratories at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. TEPCO and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, is inseparable from the water, but all other 63 radioactive isotopes selected for treatment can be reduced to safe levels, tested and further diluted by seawater before release. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) This photo shows the damaged Unit 1 reactor, back, and the exhaust stack shared with the Unit 1 and 2 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. The government has set a decommissioning roadmap aiming for completion in 29 years. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) Workers walk around a construction site for a planned shaft at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), in Futaba town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. The shaft is designed to store treated radioactive water to be diluted with seawater to releasable levels. The Japanese government and TEPCO officials say they plan to gradually start discharging the water in the spring 2023. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) One of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) employees holds a radiation counter as they take AP journalists to the area under the Unit 5 reactor pressure vessel, which survived the earthquake-triggered tsunami in 2011, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by TEPCO, in Futaba town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. The government has set a decommissioning roadmap aiming for completion in 29 years. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) One of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) employees speaks as they take AP journalists to the area under the Unit 5 reactor pressure vessel, which survived the earthquake-triggered tsunami in 2011, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by TEPCO, in Futaba town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. The government has set a decommissioning roadmap aiming for completion in 29 years. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) A worker helps direct a truck driver as he stands near tanks, background, that will be used to store treated radioactive water after it was used to cool down melted fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. Treated radioactive water is stored in tanks at the power station. The government has announced plans to release the water after treatment and dilution to well below the legally releasable levels through a planned undersea tunnel at a site about 1 kilometer offshore. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) Men in hazmat suits work inside a facility with equipment to remove radioactive materials from contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. The government has announced plans to release the water after treatment and dilution to well below the legally releasable levels through a planned undersea tunnel at a site about 1 kilometer offshore. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) Men in hazmat suits work inside a facility with equipment to remove radioactive materials from contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. The government has announced plans to release the water after treatment and dilution to well below the legally releasable levels through a planned undersea tunnel at a site about 1 kilometer offshore. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) Tanks storing treated radioactive water after it was used to cool the melted fuel are seen at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 3, 2022. The government has announced plans to release the water after treatment and dilution to well below the legally releasable levels through a planned undersea tunnel at a site about 1 kilometer offshore. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)