Footage has been released showing how the device captures fuel debris at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has released footage showing how a search device captures nuclear fuel debris in the containment chamber of reactor #2.

On Monday, the Tokyo Electric Power Company resumed efforts to remove nuclear fuel debris from the reactor.

The trial began in September but was suspended for about a month and a half due to a problem with the cameras connected to the tracking device.

TEPCO said a tool that grabbed the tip of a search device scooped up some debris about five millimeters in size on Wednesday.

The footage shows the capture tool shown on the screen approaching the black debris with pits and ridges on the surface. The tool is shown grabbing a small piece of debris and holding it gently.

TEPCO says the tip of the device was pushed back into the pipe leading outside on Thursday.

The utility says it will remove the recovery device from the containment vessel by Friday and plans to measure the radiation levels of collected debris samples to confirm that radiation levels are below a certain level. Then the sample will be placed in a special container and transported to the object of analysis.

Removal of nuclear waste is considered the most difficult step in the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
If the current attempt is successful, it will be the first time debris has been recovered from the plant since the 2011 accident.