Workers successfully removed the first fuel from a storage tank at Fukushima Daiichi, while at the Ohi plant a second reactor has come back online.

Recent developments related to the Tokyo Electric Power Co. reactors damaged by Japan's massive earthquake and tsunami last year include:

Fuel Removed at Unit 4

Fuel assembly removal at unit 4. Source: TEPCOWorkers using a crane lifted a fuel assembly from the spent fuel pool of unit 4 on Wednesday and planned to remove another the following day. The Daily Yomiuri reported the fuel will be studied to understand the effects of seawater used to cool the assemblies early in the crisis. Scientists will also inspect the fuel cladding for damage or corrosion. The fuel removed was among the 204 unused assemblies in the pool that previously contained a total of 1,535 assemblies. Last month the Japanese minister appointed to oversee Fukushima announced work toward emptying the tank would begin ahead of schedule, following concerns about the potential impact of earthquakes on its explosion-damaged building. Plans currently call for full-scale fuel removal at the end of next year.

Ohi 4 Restarts

Operators at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Ohi 4 began restarting the reactor Wednesday night, making it the second unit in the country to resume power generation after going offline following the accidents at Fukushima. The Asahi Shimbun reported Ohi 4 was expected to begin supplying power to the grid on Saturday with full-scale operation on July 25. Neighboring Ohi 3 was the first Japanese reactor to restart post-Fukushima on July 1.

TEPCO Applies Coolers to Water System

Crews have installed a system to further cool down the water circulating through damaged reactor cores. According to a TEPCO release Tuesday, six "refrigerators" were installed to mitigate water temperature increases caused by the hottest summer in three decades without having to increase the rate of injection into leaking reactors. The new equipment draws water from the makeshift cooling system, chills it and injects it into the buffer tank that feeds pipes leading to the three damaged RPVs.