Tokyo Electric Power Co. might try to remove two unused fuel assemblies sitting in the spent-fuel pool above the Fukushima No. 1 plant's No. 4 reactor in July, officials said Sunday.

The attempt would be a test run for securing the dangerous pool, which has become a priority because the building that housed the reactor and the pool — which sits on the fifth floor — was ripped apart by a hydrogen explosion in the early days of the nuclear crisis last year and could collapse in a strong earthquake. That might dump hundreds of fuel rods on the ground, where they would burn up and release even more radiation than in last year's crisis.

Since the unused fuel is not generating heat from fission, it is less dangerous to handle than the spent fuel. The utility, known as Tepco, is hoping to determine how damaged the unused assemblies are and to devise ways to store them.

When the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck on March 11, 2011, tipping the flawed plant into crisis, the fuel in the core of unit 4 was already in the spent-fuel pool because the reactor was being refurbished and was inactive. The pool contains 1,535 fuel assemblies, including 204 unused ones.

Tepco plans to start removing the fuel in the pool by the end of 2013 as part of work to decommission reactors 1 through 4, which were crippled by meltdowns and explosions in the disaster.

While concerns remain that the pool is in a vulnerable state, Tepco said in its latest inspection that it has confirmed the pool is not tilting and can safely hold the fuel.