RE: U.S. Dismisses Cuba-Russia Nuclear Plant Revival

["Migliore, Charles W" <Charles.W.Migliore@nspco.com>]

<Experts say the light-water reactors are safer than the graphite-
<cooled model used in Chernobyl, Ukraine, the site of the world'

Dont they mean "graphite moderated"?

Charles Migliore RRPT

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Sandy Perle [SMTP:sandyfl@earthlink.net]
> Sent:	Saturday, May 15, 1999 3:52 PM
> To:	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject:	U.S. Dismisses Cuba-Russia Nuclear Plant Revival
> 
> Saturday May 15 12:37 AM ET 
> 
> U.S. Dismisses Cuba-Russia Nuclear Plant Revival
> 
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States Friday dismissed 
> Cuban and Russian plans to resume work on a nuclear power plant 
> on the island, saying it was unrealistic to continue construction on 
> a project abandoned seven years ago.  
> 
> News reports from Moscow said Russia and Cuba agreed to set up 
> a joint venture to finish the power station at Juragua, where work 
> stopped in 1992 after the Soviet Union collapsed.  
> 
> Completion of the two Soviet-designed light-water reactors at the 
> station located on Cuba's southern coast about 175 miles (280 km) 
> from the Florida Keys is seen as a safety risk by the United 
> States.  
> 
> ``The plant is basically an empty shell that has been sitting idle 
> since 1992 and seems to be in a very deteriorated state,'' a State 
> Department official said.  
> 
> The official said the plant was badly corroded by the salt that blows 
> in from the Caribbean Sea.
> 
> Completing the plant would cost about $800 million and it is not 
> clear where Cuba or Russia would get the cash.
> 
> ``It would take a tremendous capital influx to salvage this plant,'' 
> the U.S. official said, adding it was doubtful whether either of the 
> two countries would ``be able to find the money to even begin doing 
> any work on it.''  
> 
> Construction of the reactors began in the early 1980s with Soviet 
> technology that is considered unsafe and could spread radiation 
> into the United States in the event of an accident.  
> 
> Experts say the light-water reactors are safer than the graphite-
> cooled model used in Chernobyl, Ukraine, the site of the world's 
> worst nuclear accident. But they still do not meet the safety 
> standards of Western nations, critics say.  
> 
> A 1992 report from the U.S. General Accounting Office said there 
> was evidence of poor construction at the plant, citing testimony of 
> former Juragua workers who raised concerns about shoddy 
> installation of cooling pipes, bad welds and improper storage of 
> equipment at the seaside plant.  
> 
> Caribbean winds would likely blow radiation leaks north to Florida 
> and up the U.S. eastern seaboard to Washington, D.C., or possibly 
> west to Texas, according to data from the National Oceanic and 
> Atmospheric Administration.  
> 
> Scientists at Florida State University are taking no chances and in 
> January began setting up a network to track potential radiation from 
> the unfinished Cuban nuclear plant.  
> 
> The early warning system will analyze air samples collected by 
> monitoring stations in St. Petersburg, Florida, Miami, the Florida  
> Keys and other locations around the Gulf of Mexico.
> 
> ------------------------
> Sandy Perle
> E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net
> Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
> 
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