Japanese federal czar on Fukushima Daiichi catastrophe declares first phase of recovery complete

The Mainichi Daily News has reported that Goshi Hosono, the Japanese federal government's top minister overseeing the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, has declared the first phase of containing the disaster -- bringing the reactors to a stable condition -- accomplished on schedule. How he can make that claim is not explained, as three melted cores continue to be cooled by "feed and bleed" water dousing and radioactive steam releases, a process that could continue for years, despite Japanese federal government assurances that "cold shutdown" (bringing the molten cores below the boiling point of water) will be achieved by January, if not sooner. In addition, the Units 1 and 4 high-level radioactive waste storage pools still lack cooling systems, requiring ad hoc mechanisms to keep water from completely boiling away. Also, the French Areva designed water decontamination system, the functioning of which was another "Phase 1" goal, has repeatedly malfunctioned, leaving tens of thousands of tons of radioactively contaminated water to wait for treatment, as typhoon rains threaten; water storage space at Fukushima Daiichi has been scant to non-existent for months, risking the overflow of highly radioactive water directly into the ocean yet again, as previously happened in April.