The first sample of molten fuel recovered from the nuclear power plant No. 1 from Fukushima, crippled, arrived at a research facility in Ibaraki Prefecture to help develop large-scale recovery methods.

A truck carrying the debris in a dedicated container left the plant at 9:27 a.m. on Nov. 12 and arrived at the lab at 2:41 p.m. the same day, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency said.

The researchers will analyze in detail the composition and structure of the 0.69 gram sample collected from reactor no. 2 during approximately one year at the facility in the city of Oarai.

“The amount is very small, but we believe it will be enough to assess the situation inside the reactor,” an agency official said. “We want to make the most of the scraps we get and produce analytical results.”

Fuel residues will be divided for analysis into four divisions.

The agency said it would check the amount needed at each division and set priorities.

The sample is the first molten fuel collected from the nuclear plant no. 1 in Fukushima, where three reactors melted down after the great earthquake and tsunami of 2011.

Reactors no. 1, no. 2 and no. 3 contain approximately 880 tons of nuclear waste that must be removed during the decommissioning process.

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency plans to consider recovery methods based on the results of the analysis, such as the hardness of the debris and the risk of an accidental nuclear chain reaction.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant’s operator, previously said it would collect up to 3 grams of melted fuel from reactor no. 2 on an experimental basis.