2 Exposed to Radiation at Chernobyl

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Monday July 19 9:35 AM ET 

2 Exposed to Radiation at Chernobyl    

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Two workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant 
were exposed to radiation during safety checks at the plant's only 
operational reactor, officials said Monday.  

The workers were using a device Saturday that emits gamma rays to 
check for radiation leaks at reactor No. 3, when part of the device 
fell out of its protective container, the state nuclear energy 
company Energoatom said.  

Chernobyl spokesman Oleh Holoskokov said one worker was exposed to a 
radiation dose of 9.8 rem, and the other was exposed to a dose of 8.3 
rem. A dose of 5 rem a year is considered the safe upper limit under 
Ukrainian safety standards, Holoskokov said.  

There were no reports of the workers' condition, but the incident 
apparently posed little health risk because it requires a dose of up 
to 100 rem to cause radiation sickness.  

Rem, or Roentgen equivalent man, measures the amount of radiation 
absorbed into living tissue.

The gamma-ray source was put back in its container early Sunday and 
sent for examination, Energoatom said.

Energoatom said Saturday's incident registered as level 1, the lowest 
rating on the 7-level International Nuclear Event Scale used to 
assess the seriousness of mishaps at nuclear plants worldwide.  

Executives formed a commission to investigate the latest accident at 
the plant, where the No. 4 reactor blew up in 1986 causing the 
world's worst nuclear power accident.  

The No. 3 reactor, which was stopped for repairs on July 1, is 
expected to stay idle until November.

It remains the only functioning reactor among the four that were 
initially operating at Chernobyl. Another Chernobyl reactor was 
damaged and shut down by a fire in 1991 and a third has not operated 
since 1996.  

Ukraine has promised to shut down Chernobyl by 2000, but wants to 
secure international aid first to complete two other nuclear reactors 
to compensate for the energy loss. 

Sandy Perle
E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -
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