Chornobyl 12 years after: questions of funding are key (04/26/98)

Chornobyl 12 years after: questions of funding are key

by Pavel Politiuk
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

CHORNOBYL - At 1:24 a.m. on April 26, 1986, a failed test at the fourth reactor at the Chornobyl nuclear power station resulted in an explosion, sending radioactive particles into the atmosphere and contaminating the land for miles around, creating a place devoid of life, people and a future.

During the several months that followed more than 100,000 people were evacuated from one of the richest regions of what was then the Soviet Union. They lost their homes and property, and were forced to move to an unknown future.

Today, 12 years after the worst nuclear accident in history, the Chornobyl nuclear complex, located about an hour and half from Ukraine's capital city, continues to operate and Ukraine continues to live in the shadow of Chornobyl. Residents of the contaminated zones are still being resettled, and millions of others are not sure that the air they breathe and the water they drink is safe.

In a 1995 agreement with the Group of Seven industrialized countries Ukraine pledged to close the Chornobyl plant by the year 2000 in exchange for international aid.

But Ukraine is still awaiting a decision on a request it has made that the G-7 help finance the completion of construction of two nuclear reactor complexes, one near the northwestern city of Rivne, the other near Khmelnytskyi in central Ukraine, that Ukraine says are needed to replace the Chornobyl plant and provide much-needed energy.

President Leonid Kuchma recently reiterated that Ukraine would not be able to close the troublesome Chornobyl complex if the G-7 reneges on its promise.

Ukraine also has been pressing the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to finance construction of the two nuclear reactor complexes.

EBRD representatives indicated this year that the bank would finance completion of the two power plants, but have delayed a final decision due to concerns about safety, the financial soundness of the project and doubts that the projected $1.2 billion loan could be repaid.

Ukraine has stated that it is not satisfied with the demands being place on it by the EBRD in exchange for the loan. On April 20 Ukraine's Minister of Energy Oleksii Shebertsov said his government is not happy with a "number of provisions" and is looking at alternate sources of funding to complete the two reactors at Rivne and the four at Khmelnytskyi.

"Meanwhile, we are looking for alternative sources of funding the effort to complete the construction of the reactors," said Mr. Shebertsov.

That possibility could include drawing credits from Russian banks. During President Kuchma's last visit to Moscow, in addition to signing an economic pact, Moscow agreed in principle to provide funding for the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi reactors.

President Kuchma has said that if no Western funding arrives, Ukraine is ready to complete the two nuclear facilities on its own, but that it would agree to a technical loan from the Russian Federation.

Ukrainian officials say that Western assistance has been far from adequate and that they expected more. Several times they have warned the West that they would not be able to meet the promised deadline for the closure of the Chornobyl complex in the year 2000.

In fact, some experts believe that Ukraine does not want to implement the promises made and that Chornobyl will continue to work after the year 2000. "The state wants to continue the work of the station as long as possible," said Volodymyr Usatenko, senior advisor to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Chornobyl.

"Under this government, I have no doubt that Prime Minister Pustovoitenko will do everything to keep the unit turned on; he needs this as a flag," said Mr. Usatenko. "Chornobyl is not needed as an energy object, but it is needed as a symbol of danger. They will continue to operate Chornobyl after the year 2000 by all means possible. They believe that they can force the world to keep paying after 2000 ... by speculating on the danger."

Mr. Usatenko said that neither the Chornobyl station nor the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi power plants designated to replace it are needed. "We have enough power capacity in Ukraine - three times more than we need," said Mr. Usatenko. "Completing the units means increasing tariffs and thus the costs of goods, because it will be impossible to pay off the huge losses otherwise, and we will have to pay back the credits."

Experts have indicated that the biggest danger for Ukrainians is the condition of the sarcophagus, the concrete shell hastily erected after the 1986 tragedy, which encases the stricken fourth reactor at Chornobyl.

But some local officials believe that even here the danger is minimal.

"There is no threat to the population outside the 30-kilometer zone and there can't be," said Volodymyr Holosha, first vice minister at Ukraine's Ministry of Emergency Situations, speaking at a press conference in the contaminated zone on April 17.

"Even if local instabilities lead to a partial collapse of the sarcophagus, which potentially could lead to a release of (radioactive) dust, according to calculations by scientists, including ones from Russia and Germany, a threat of increased doses involves only the personnel working in the industrial square," said Mr. Holosha.

Chornobyl officials indicated that they hope Ukraine and the West will continue to cooperate on the problems associated with the Chornobyl disaster. They cited as an example of successful cooperation the $2 million project to repair the ventilation chimney at reactor No. 4, which is being financed by the United States, Canada and Ukraine. Western companies are doing the actual work with assistance from Ukraine.

"The repair of the ventilation chimney is the first example of cooperation between Ukraine and Western countries on the problems of the sarcophagus," said Oleksander Slavis, the Kyiv representative of the Chornobyl station.

He said that several other projects aimed at making the destroyed No. 4 reactor and its fragile protective shell safer will soon get under way. The projects are part of a $760 million plan drafted by the G-7 and Ukraine to stabilize the sarcophagus.