Fukushima nuclear plant moves closer to 'cold shutdown'

TOKYO, Sept. 28 Kyodo - Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday all three crippled reactors at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have met a key condition in achieving a stable state known as ''cold shutdown.''
The utility made the announcement after the temperature reading at the base of the No. 2 reactor pressure vessel at the plant, which has been crippled since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, fell below 100 C.
Bringing the temperature at the base of each vessel to below 100 C is a key condition for achieving a cold shutdown of the plant. The Nos. 1 and 3 reactor vessels are already below 80 C.
As of 5 p.m., the base of the No. 2 reactor vessel was at 99.4 C, the utility known as TEPCO said.
The government and TEPCO believe that the other condition -- reducing the leakage of radioactive substances from the plant -- is also about to be met.
According to the road map for containing the nuclear crisis, efforts are currently at the ''step 2'' phase aimed at achieving a cold shutdown.
To step up restoration efforts, TEPCO has adopted a method of showering water onto the Nos. 2 and 3 reactor cores.
The radiation level around the plant site has fallen to 0.4 millisievert per year, lower than the government-set reference limit of 1 millisievert.
Though the figures indicate that the plant has achieved a cold shutdown, it is ''somewhat too early'' to make such a judgment as the radiation readings have yet to be confirmed, TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said at a press conference.