Loose fuel fragment in Chernobyl

["Daniel.L.Birkenheuer" <birk@fsl.noaa.gov>]

Thursday November 30 2:50 PM ET Nuclear Fuel Fragment Found Leaking

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Workers at the Chernobyl nuclear plant found a
highly radioactive fuel fragment atop the sarcophagus that covers a
reactor ruined in the world's worst nuclear accident, officials
said Thursday.

The 8-inch fragment, found last week, emits radiation of some 200
Roentgen an hour at close range, which is thousands of times higher
than normal background radiation.

The fuel piece could have been blown onto the roof through a
ventilation shaft located between the ruined reactor No.  4 and
Chernobyl's only working reactor, No.  3, said Svetlana Linkevych,
a spokeswoman for sarcophagus workers.

Experts are now determining how the fuel got onto the sarcophagus
roof and how to remove it safely, she said.

The sarcophagus was hastily constructed to cover the reactor that
exploded and caught fire in April, 26, 1986, spewing a radioactive
cloud over parts of Europe.

With the help of foreign aid, Ukraine is trying to make the leaky
structure environmentally safe.  It is believed to contain tons of
radioactive fuel and dust.

Some 180 tons of nuclear fuel were located in the reactor at the
moment of its explosion, and scientists have accounted for only 140
tons of it.

Ukraine has promised to close down the plant on Dec.  15 following
pressure from Western nations, domestic and foreign environmental
groups and ordinary Ukrainians concerned about the site's safety.
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