News from Chernobyl

["Sigurdur M. Magnusson" <smm@geirik.is>]

I just received the following information regarding monitoring inside the
Sarcophagus at Chernobyl from the Worlds Nuclear News Agency ( NucNet).
Since this info may be of interest to others it is forewarded to Radsafe.

Chernobyl to step up Sarcophagus Monitoring.

A top ranking Ukrainian nuclear official said today ( Thurday) that plans
are beeing made to increase the quanitiy and quality of radioation detection
equipment at Chernobyls Sarcophagus, following recent confusing instruments
radings.

Last week international concern was sparked off by reports of increased
neutron flux at the Sarcophagus. This led to some seemingly contradictory
messages from Ukraine.

In an interview with NucNet, Valery Kukhar, advisor to President Kuchma on
nuclear energy policy, said: " We are looking at ways of placing more
detectors in the Sarcophagus so that a greater sread of readings can be
made. We need to improve our knowledge of what goes on inside the
Sarcophagus. A high level of international cooperation is needed to improve
monitoring and help make the Sarcophagus an environmentally safe system.

The possibility of faulty equipment is difficult to verify. The detectors
are fixed in position in highly-radioactive inner spaces. Testing the
equipment by hand is extremely difficult and can be dangerous. We have, how
ever been able to confirm that the communication system connecting the
detectors is working well.

In our view, the increased neutron flux is not so unusual as the media imly.
Out of the 25 fixed detectors in the Sarcophagus, only three registred
increased neutron activity. This increase was not large enough to support
andy suggestion of a sustained chain reaction. There was no increase in heat
or in gamma radiation as one would expect in such a case. This is not the
first time this has happended.

There is nothing in the current readings to suggest any cause for alarm.
However, the Sarcophagus is a very unusual object, and we do not know the
pricise distribution of natural uranium oxide or of enriched ( 2.3 % )
uranium. It could be that water has mixed with some of the uranium but we do
not have the full knowledge of all that happens. That is why we are looking
at ways to increase the quality and quantity of monitoring equipment.

It was the complexity of the subject which led the mass media to enrich the
comments made by our government. "

Source:   Valery Khukhar, Head of presidential commission on nuclear policy
and enviromental           protection.

Editor:  Paul Seaman


It can be added to this that  differences have emerged among Ukrainian
nuclear specialists over the future of the Sarcophagus at Chernobyl
following the recent reports of increased neutron flux inside and outside
the structure.


Sigurdur M. Magnusson
Icelandic Radiation Protection Institute
Reykjavik, Iceland