Chernobyl Roof Repairs Completed

[MIannaccone@dhhs.state.nh.us]

01:20 PM ET 12/22/99

 Chernobyl Roof Repairs Completed
 By MARINA SYSOYEVA=
 Associated Press Writer=
        KIEV, Ukraine (AP) _ The unstable concrete and steel sarcophagus
 covering the ruined reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
 has been strengthened, officials said Wednesday.
        The structure, called the Shelter, was hastily built after the
 April 1986 explosion and fire at the reactor, the world's worst
 nuclear accident.
        The shaky beams supporting the sarcophagus' roof and the cracks
 in its walls raised fears that the structure might collapse,
 releasing a cloud of radioactive dust.
        Initial repairs began last month and were completed Tuesday,
 said Oleksandr Slavis, representative of the European Bank for
 Reconstruction and Development's Chernobyl Fund in Ukraine.
        ``It should be noted that this work was urgent,'' Slavis said.
 ``It gives us the possibility to start other stabilization works.''
        The first part of the $2.8 million repair effort was building a
 crane and an elevator to assess the roof of the sarcophagus.
 Workers also took measurements and underwent training at a model of
 the structure in the nearby town of Chernobyl.
        The workers then assembled a radiation protection box and cut
 off roof parts to enter the sarcophagus. They welded and poured
 concrete into the beams while hanging over the reactor's ruined
 hall.
        Because the workers were operating in highly radioactive
 conditions, they could stay inside for only 30 minutes at a time.
        Richard Loos, co-director of a unit that oversees safety
 projects in the sarcophagus, was satisfied with the work's quality.
        ``The work which has been done in B1 and B2 (supportive beams)
 made the Shelter more safe,'' he said.
        The strengthening of the sarcophagus is part of a $758 million
 project launched in 1997 to reduce Chernobyl's risk and protect the
 environment. It is mostly sponsored by Western governments, with
 Ukraine contributing about $50 million.
        The project's goal is to build a new, safer sarcophagus by 2003
 and help Ukraine develop a plan to deal with radioactive materials
 inside the Shelter.

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

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