ID :
208108
Mon, 09/19/2011 - 16:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/208108
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Japan vows at IAEA confab to stabilize Fukushima Daiichi by year-end
VIENNA, Sept. 19 Kyodo -
Japan pledged Monday to move up the deadline for bringing the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to a stable condition, telling an International Atomic Energy Agency conference it will do so by year-end.
Goshi Hosono, Japan's minister in charge of the nuclear accident, revealed the revised schedule at the annual conference of the U.N. nuclear watchdog. Japan previously said it would bring the plant to a condition known as ''cold shutdown'' by mid-January.
''We will move up the existing target period, and endeavor to achieve this 'cold shutdown' by the end of this year,'' Hosono said.
Hosono made the promise as the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima plant, plan to update the current timeline Tuesday.
Hosono also said that the Japanese government is working to set up a Nuclear Safety and Security Agency in next April as an external body of the Environment Ministry to fully achieve ''separation of authorities for regulation and promotion'' of nuclear power.
Japan will subsequently accept an IAEA team sent to assess how effectively the new entity will function, Hosono said.
The IAEA began a five-day conference on Monday convened to endorse an action plan that its board of governors adopted last week and meant to enhance global nuclear safety in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. The conference will also discuss a draft resolution on the scrapping of North Korea's nuclear programs.
On the sidelines of the conference, Hosono said in a meeting with IAEA chief Yukiya Amano that he agreed that Japan will accept a team of IAEA experts in October sent to advise on decontaminating areas near the radiation-leaking Fukushima plant.
Japan also agreed to seek the agency's assistance in assessing safety measures related to the restart of atomic power plants in Japan currently shut down for regular checkups, Hosono said.
2011-09-19 21:41:23
Japan pledged Monday to move up the deadline for bringing the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to a stable condition, telling an International Atomic Energy Agency conference it will do so by year-end.
Goshi Hosono, Japan's minister in charge of the nuclear accident, revealed the revised schedule at the annual conference of the U.N. nuclear watchdog. Japan previously said it would bring the plant to a condition known as ''cold shutdown'' by mid-January.
''We will move up the existing target period, and endeavor to achieve this 'cold shutdown' by the end of this year,'' Hosono said.
Hosono made the promise as the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima plant, plan to update the current timeline Tuesday.
Hosono also said that the Japanese government is working to set up a Nuclear Safety and Security Agency in next April as an external body of the Environment Ministry to fully achieve ''separation of authorities for regulation and promotion'' of nuclear power.
Japan will subsequently accept an IAEA team sent to assess how effectively the new entity will function, Hosono said.
The IAEA began a five-day conference on Monday convened to endorse an action plan that its board of governors adopted last week and meant to enhance global nuclear safety in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. The conference will also discuss a draft resolution on the scrapping of North Korea's nuclear programs.
On the sidelines of the conference, Hosono said in a meeting with IAEA chief Yukiya Amano that he agreed that Japan will accept a team of IAEA experts in October sent to advise on decontaminating areas near the radiation-leaking Fukushima plant.
Japan also agreed to seek the agency's assistance in assessing safety measures related to the restart of atomic power plants in Japan currently shut down for regular checkups, Hosono said.
2011-09-19 21:41:23
