TEPCO aims to achieve 'cold shutdown' for reactors in 6-9 months

[KeepItReal]

Source: Kyodo News

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday that it aims to bring the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to a stable condition known as a ''cold shutdown'' in about six to nine months, while restoring stable cooling to the reactors and spent fuel pools in about three months.

At a news conference in Tokyo, company Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata announced the utility's schedule ''for the moment'' for bringing the complex in Fukushima Prefecture under control, while offering an apology for the ongoing nuclear crisis.

The utility, known as TEPCO, also said it needs three months to achieve ''steady reduction'' in radiation, and an additional three to six months to control radioactive emissions and curb radiation substantially.

It said it is addressing the immediate challenges of preventing hydrogen explosions at the Nos. 1 to 3 reactors and emission of water contaminated with high-level radiation from the No. 2 reactor.



Read more: http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/04/86010.html

[aquart]

1. And they want evacuees home as soon as possible.

HUH?

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2011/04/201141755954143715.html

In the first three months of the plan, the company hopes to steadily reduce the level of leaking radiation, Katsumata said.

Three to six months after that, it hopes to get the release of radioactive materials under control.

"We would like to see evacuees return to their homes as early as possible," Katsumata said.

-snip-

Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Tokyo, said, "We are hearing that radiation level in sea water off Fukushima is up sharply again; radioactive iodine is at 6000 times the level it should be, that's a six fold increase in one day."

-snip-

[thereismore]

2. How come a corporation can jerk around a whole nation like this. nt

[katnapped]

4. Yea, funny ain't it?

Just like the Koch Konglomerate is running THIS country :sarcasm:

[99th_Monkey]

7. There was talk weeks ago of nationalizing TEPCO.

can't imagine why they are not doing this, except that maybe TEPCO has "expertise" or some such.

[DCBob]

3. Quite a large margin of error on that timeline..

Shows they really have essentially no idea what could really happen in the next few months. I still think an international team of experts needs to take over.

[daleo]

5. A cold shutdown isn't a possibility anymore

It's like saying you intend to bring a plane to a safe landing months after it has crashed. The best you can hope for is to mitigate a disaster that has already happened.

[grahamhgreen]

6. Big K&R. Nukes are a fools errand. Wind is cheaper.

[They_Live]

8. so much like the Gulf BP catastrophe

6 to 9 months to "fix it" is simply unacceptable. Plus, as with that other situation, they're lying.