Concerns about Fukushima quake resistance

Images captured by a robotic probe inside one of the three melted reactors at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant showed exposed steel bars in the main supporting structure and its thick external concrete wall largely missing near its bottom, triggering concerns about its earthquake resistance in case of another major disaster.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, has been sending robotic probes inside the Unit 1 primary containment chamber since last year.

TEPCO spokesman told that the steel reinforcement is seen largely intact but the company planned to further analyze data and images over the next couple of months in order to find if or how the reactor's earthquake resistance needs to be improved. About 880 tonnes of fatally radioactive melted nuclear fuel remain inside three reactors.