Prime Minister Says Fukushima Reactors Are In Cold Shutdown
Written by NucNet
Sunday, 16 December 2012
Three reactor units damaged by the earthquake and tsunami at Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan have reached a stable state of cold shutdown, prime minister Yoshihiko Noda said today.
An official statement on the prime minister’s website said Mr Noda had confirmed the news at a meeting earlier today Tokyo time.
According to plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), gauges inside units 1, 2 and 3 at Fukushima-Daiichi show temperatures of around 70 degrees Celsius.
Cold shutdown is defined in Tepco’s restoration roadmap as keeping the temperature in the lower areas of the reactor pressure vessels stable at below 100 degrees Celsius.
The government also said the amount of radiation at the periphery of the plant is at or below one millisievert per year – equivalent to the annual legal exposure limit for ordinary citizens before the crisis began.
According to the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, nuclear crisis minister Goshi Hosono plans to review the no-go zones and evacuation advisory areas around the plant.
JAIF said there might still be areas where radiation levels are too high for residents to return home.
