More than 4,700 units of fuel rods remain inside the three melted reactors, and two other reactors that survived the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The water keeps growing by 170 tonnes daily, because it is used to cool the melted fuel. Removal of an estimated 880 tonnes of molten fuel from the plant’s three melted reactors is an unprecedented challenge. Japan has yet to develop a plan to dispose of the highly radioactive melted fuel and other debris that came out of the reactors. More than 10,000 workers are needed annually in the coming years, with about one-third assigned to do work related to the radioactive water.
