Ukraine Nuclear Reactor Shut Down

["Mario Iannaccone" <miannacc@dhhs.state.nh.us>]

09:35 PM ET 03/29/99

Ukraine Nuclear Reactor Shut Down

 Ukraine Nuclear Reactor Shut Down
        KIEV, Ukraine (AP) _ Workers cut power at the Chernobyl nuclear
 plant's only working reactor Monday, while another nuclear plant
 underwent an emergency shut down, officials said.
        No radiation leaks were reported after output at Chernobyl's
 reactor was cut in half due to a generator problem, the plant's
 press service said.
        Chernobyl was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in
 1986 that destroyed its reactor No. 4. Ukraine has pledged to fully
 close the plant by 2000 but says it needs Western aid to help it
 complete two new nuclear plants to compensate for Chernobyl's lost
 power.
        The former Soviet republic is heavily dependent on nuclear
 power, which accounts for more than 40 percent of the nation's
 electricity needs.
        The northwestern Rivne nuclear plant's reactor No. 3 was
 completely shut down early Monday by its automatic safety system.
        Plant experts were investigating the cause of the malfunction,
 which did not result in a radiation leak and was not dangerous to
 the reactor's safety, the state nuclear energy Energoatom said.
        The reactor was expected to be restarted by Sunday, Energoatom
 said.
        Ukraine's nuclear officials acknowledge that the number of
 reactor malfunctions at the country's five nuclear plants is
 increasing because plants cannot afford to fully finance reactor
 safety upgrades.
        Last week, output was reduced at the Zaporizhia and Yuzhnaya
 nuclear plants, and plant officials said the measure was taken to
 save nuclear fuel. The plants lack money to buy more.
        The government's financial shortfalls have also resulted in
 demonstrations by nuclear plant employees demanding $40 million in
 overdue wages.
        Ukraine's emergency officials also tried to allay public fears
 Monday that recent flooding in the contaminated Chernobyl nuclear
 plant zone would spread radioactive particles and affect household
 water supplies.
        Residents are worried about the Pripyat river, which flows
 through Belarus and passes the ``exclusion zone'' around Chernobyl
 before entering the main water reservoir for the Ukrainian capital
 Kiev.
        A snowy winter followed by warm weather in recent days has
 caused the Pripyat to overflow, and Ukrainian media have carried
 alarming reports that excess water could wash away radioactive
 particles.


Disclaimer:
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of my
employer.

Mario Iannaccone,
Health Physicist
miannacc@dhhs.state.nh.us


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