Prime Minister Declares 'Cold Shutdown' of Fukushima Reactors

"TOKYO -- Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan today declared that the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been brought to a state of cold shutdown, turning a corner in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

'The nuclear reactors have reached a state of cold shutdown and therefore we can now confirm that we have come to the end of the accident phase of the actual reactors,' Prime Minister Noda told a news conference.

The cold shutdown state - when water used to cool nuclear fuel rods remains below boiling point so the fuel cannot reheat - is a target in the second phase of a timetable established by the government and the plant's owner-operator Tokyo Electric Power Company to bring the crippled facility under control."

Environment News Service had the story December 16, 2011.

SEE ALSO:

"Prospects Murky as N-Shutdown Eyed" (Daily Yomiuri)

"After Nuclear Milestone, a Long Road" (Wall St. Journal)

"Fukushima Nuclear Shutdown: 'No Progress Is Being Made'" (ZDNet)

"News Navigator: What Is a 'Cold Shutdown' at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant?" (Mainichi Daily News)

"Mob Involved in Fukushima Clean-Up: Japan Reporter" (AFP)