Japanese TEPCO to stick with original nuke shutdown plan, despite troubles

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said Tuesday that despite the scratch at its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant being far broader than previously thought at three of the complex's faulty reactors, it would adhere to its previous roadmap of six-to-nine-month to bring the nuclear disaster to an end. "As for the timetable of achieve the objectives, there are different kinds of uncertain elements and risks, but there is no change in the following target announce previously," TEPCO officials said in a press briefing on Tuesday, in and renew to its original plan. TEPCO last week voided original plans to flood the No. 1 containment chamber, which surrounds the reactor vessel, to avoid the fuel from overheating in a process that would have been recognized as water entombment.

The move came after the usefulness discovered that due to surprising low levels of water, nuclear fuel rods had been fully out in a reactor at the crippled No. 1 Fukushima nuclear power plan and melted fuel has dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel. TEPCO said a huge amount of nuclear fuel is likely to have melted after being fully exposed and that nearly all of the nuclear fuel at the Nos. 1-3 units appear to have melt in the early stage of the nuclear crisis after the earthquake and tsunami disrupt the cooling systems. Prior to this finding, TEPCO said in mid-April that it hoped to steady the plant within six to nine months, but the Asia's biggest utility firm confirmed Tuesday the time line would not change.

Also on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the government would allow an investigation by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into a series of accidents that have happened at the plant and sparked domestic and international controversy. "We have strived to ensure the utmost transparency for the international society over the accidents," Edano told a news conference. "Accepting the investigative team is part of this attempt. Sharing our country's experience with others will be helpful," the top government spokesperson said.

Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant Starts Operation

FNA dispatches from Bushehr said that Iranian and Russian expert completed loading fuel into the heart of the power plant and that nuclear fuel use has started in the power plant, meaning that it is now running activity. The plant will continue working for two weeks before it produce electricity. The power plant will connect the national grid by the next two months. Iran signed a deal with Russia in 1995, according to which the plant was initially scheduled for completion in 1999. However, the project was frequently delayed by the Russian side due to the intense pressure exerted on Moscow by the United States and its western allies. Russia finally completed building of the plant last summer.

On October 26, Iran started injecting fuel into the core of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in the original phase of launching the nuclear reactor. The facilities function under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Later in March, Iran unloaded fuel from the heart of the Bushehr reactor, and washed and triple-check the fuel rods in a move to further increase the safety of the plant. US officials announce the similar month that the disruption was due to a US spyware attack against Iran's nuclear facilities through malicious software recognized as Stuxnet, but Iranian officials dismissed the claim.

Iran then started reloading fuel into the core of the reactor, and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi publicize that the reactor would enter sensitive phases of operation from May 5 to 10. The remarks by Salehi came a day after Russia's Atomstroiexport Company, which oversaw the plant's structure, said in a statement that the refueling operation in progress after the plant had been rechecked. "The loading of fuel rod assemblies into the core in progress at the Bushehr nuclear power plant on April 8," the statement added.