To begin procedure to remove spent fuel from crippled Fukushima nuclear plant . It will begin taking out 1,500 spent fuel rods from Reactor 4 for storage . Plant damaged by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 . This resulted in the second-worst nuclear accident in history -- after Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union in 1986 -- as the reactors melted down and leaked radioactive material into the atmosphere . Cleanup beset by numerous problems , including the release of 300 tons of radioactive water .
To begin procedure to remove spent fuel from crippled Fukushima nuclear plant . It will begin taking out 1,500 spent fuel rods from Reactor 4 for storage . Plant damaged by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 . Cleanup beset by numerous problems , including the release of 300 tons of radioactive water .