(December 13, 1996) The oldest reactor at Chernobyl was shut down on Saturday, November 30, at 3 p.m. EST. The Ukrainian government had agreed to the closure in return for the U.S.$300 million the Western countries have already paid for the modernization of the Ukrainian power sector.
(463.4603) WISE Amsterdam -The reactor had been in operation since 1977. Officials raised concerns that Ukraine might not be able to meet electricity demands this winter, and that the director of the Chernobyl station, Sergej Parachin, considered that energy shortfalls would occur.
"It is extremely dangerous to have only one reactor working in the winter,þ Yuri Kostenko, Ukaine's top Chernobyl negotiator, said, referring to the danger of pipes breaking. In the winter, if the only reactor is shut down once for repairs or for refueling, it might be hard to keep the cooling water from freezing.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian government minister confirmed on November 29 that plans have been drawn up for the restart of Chernobyl unit two. Unit two has not operated since a turbine hall fire in 1991. Olexandr Smyshlyayev, First Deputy Minister for Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety, said the plant had submitted documented proposals for the consideration of the regulators. The proposals involve restarting the unit and operating it up to the year 2000. A prior condition would be the implementation of safety improvement measures. Mr. Smyshlyayev is also head of the ministry's Nuclear Regulatory Administration.
A spokesman for the plant said there were at least two reasons for restarting unit 2. These are the shutdown of unit 1, and the opportunity to continue to use the highly qualified staff currently working in the first unit. After the shutdown of unit 1, only reactor 3 will still be in operation. It is estimated that unit 2 could be ready to restart in about one year. The general director of Chernobyl, Sergei Parashin, said there had been no decision or instruction regarding the restart of the second unit. Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said the state would not have the funds to do it.
Source:
- NucNet, 29 November 1996
- Reuter, 1 December 1996
- Die Tageszeitung (FRG) 2 December 1996
Contact: WISE Kiev