[Boardwalk]

The threat of a meltdown is less.

[chimera]

Yes, remember this is decay heat we are talking about. That is produced by the radioactive decay of fission products in the fuel. As the activity drops from the decay process, less heat is produced.

This is different than the Chornobil event, which was a rapid release of energy from an overpower transient. Thermal events evolve with slower time constants. This gives you time to try other things, like auxiliary cooling (if you can get it), shoring up containment, etc.