Tokyo, April 17 (IANS) The crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant will be stabilised to a condition known as "cold shutdown" in about six to nine months, the plant's operator said Sunday.
The nuclear plant was crippled in the devastating March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, causing emission of radioactive material.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata announced the utility's schedule "for the moment" to bring the complex in Fukushima Prefecture under control.
Restoring stable cooling to the reactors and spent fuel pools will take about three months, Xinhua quoted Katsumata as saying.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said in a meeting with Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato that the government "may be able to give an estimate in the next few days" of when the nuclear emergency will be contained, Kyodo News said.