A U.S. nuclear decommissioning firm, Amentum Services Inc., plans to establish a training center in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, by 2029 to prepare workers for fuel debris removal at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The initiative anticipates full-scale operations as early as 2037 and seeks to build a steady supply of skilled personnel in collaboration with Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO).
The decommissioning of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has drawn global attention since the 2011 accident. Amentum Services Inc., based in Virginia, signed a collaboration agreement with TEPCO in 2022 to support the decommissioning plan. The company operates in about 80 countries with more than 53,000 employees and has provided technical assistance for projects at Britain's Sellafield Ltd. facility and Ukraine's Chornobyl nuclear plant, both rated Level 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, matching Fukushima's severity.
Fuel debris consists of melted nuclear fuel mixed with concrete and other reactor structures, estimated at 880 tons in reactors Nos. 1 to 3. TEPCO has conducted trial removals at the No. 2 reactor, collecting just 0.9 grams so far. The debris emits lethal radiation levels that could kill someone nearby within minutes.
TEPCO targets completion of decommissioning by 2051, with 4,000 to 5,000 people currently involved. Last year, the utility delayed full-scale debris removal from the early 2030s to 2037 or later, citing the time required to demolish highly radioactive adjacent buildings.
On-site training inside reactor buildings is nearly impossible due to extreme radiation, creating an urgent need for an external facility. With about 70% of the workforce from Fukushima Prefecture, Amentum selected Futaba—home to the plant—for the site and opened an office there in October last year.
The training center, to be built over the next one to three years, will focus on operating remote-controlled equipment for debris removal and using digital technologies. Amentum plans to share successful practices from its Sellafield training hub to ensure a supply of skilled workers, including younger generations.
Loren Jones, a senior vice president at Amentum, stated that the project is a crucial mission in Fukushima and that the firm hopes to work with local research bodies to cultivate young specialists and future leaders to support TEPCO.
TEPCO said it intends to deepen collaboration with Amentum and make steady progress on decommissioning initiatives.
