Japan to Declare Cold Shutdown at Fukushima Plant

The Japanese government will soon declare that a state of cold shutdown has been achieved for all the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The announcement scheduled for Friday will mean the achievement of the second phase of the timetable to bring the plant under control. The timetable, revised in October, aims to achieve this phase by the year-end, according to Japan's (NHK World) website. The government has now confirmed that all the conditions have been met. It says temperatures at the bottom of the reactor pressure vessels and inside the containment vessels have basically fallen below 100 degrees Celsius. The amount of radioactive materials emitted has also dropped, with radiation levels on the compound''s border falling below one millisievert per year. The government says stable circulatory cooling of the reactors can be achieved with contaminated water, as alternative methods have been secured against malfunctions or accidents. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will make the official declaration that the reactors are in a stable condition at a news conference on Friday. The government will launch a new body to oversee the completion of the process. It will be led by a Cabinet minister and the president of Tokyo Electric Power Company, the plant operator. It will also release a medium-to-long term timetable for the Daiichi plant, which includes its decommissioning, while helping residents to return home.