Heeding EBRD request, Ukraine delays start-up of Chornobyl reactor (05/03/98)

Heeding EBRD request, Ukraine delays start-up of Chornobyl reactor

by Pavel Politiuk
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - Ukraine has made a decision to delay the start-up of reactor No. 3 at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant after the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development asked Kyiv to postpone the move until after the EBRD's annual convention to be held in the Ukrainian capital.

On May 8 to 12 thousands of top European bankers plan to take part in the EBRD conclave in Kyiv. Some of delegates were worried about the start-up of reactor No. 3.

"We understand the request from the EBRD to Ukrainian leaders and suppose that we can delay the start-up," the director of the Chornobyl plant, Serhii Parashin, told journalists on April 27.

But Mr. Parashyn said the station is prepared to switch on the reactor, and there are no technical reasons to delay the start-up. "All reactor systems are prepared and we can guarantee their safety and security," he said. He added that only political factors could lead to a postponement.

Last summer operators found they had to replace more aging fuel systems in the third reactor than had been foreseen. Then they found cracks in the seams of cooling pipes that needed to be fixed. They have also had trouble financing the repairs.

Mr. Parashyn said the station plans to present a special report to EBRD experts that will show the results and consequences of the long-term repair on reactor No. 3.

But he indicated that the opinion of foreign experts is not enough for the station and Chornobyl will await a decision from Ukraine's Nuclear Regulatory Agency on whether it will permit operation of the reactor.

He also said that the Chornobyl plant will be temporary stopped by the end of this year to make repairs necessary to improve its safety.

None of the four reactors at Chornobyl, site of the world's worst nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986, is currently operational, but the government would like to restart at least one unit in May to help meet the country's energy needs.

Ukrainian officials said they are prepared to keep Chornobyl's only functioning reactor open well into the 21st century. The reactor, which has been under repair since last July, is scheduled to resume producing electricity in May.

In 1995 Ukraine and the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations agreed to close the plant in exchange for Western aid. The money would help complete two nuclear reactors to compensate for the energy that Chornobyl provided.

"Chornobyl will be closed - that is clear," President Leonid Kuchma said after a ceremony near the Kyiv monument to Chornobyl's victims. "We do not have any other choice."

Mr. Kuchma added that the definite shutdown date depends on when promised Western aid will arrive. But the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is not expected to make a decision on whether to fund the new reactors until late this year. The loan is estimated at $1.2 billion.

President Kuchma said Ukraine is tired of waiting for Western financial assistance and is ready to join forces with Russia to finish building two new nuclear reactors to compensate for the closure of the Chornobyl nuclear plant.

During the summit of CIS heads of state in Moscow, the Ukrainian president met with President Boris Yeltsin to discuss Russian participation in the project. Spokesman Oleksander Maidannyk said Ukraine plans to obtain equipment from Russia and hopes to complete reactors in Rivne and Khmelnytskyi by the year 2000.

"In principle, we have decided to build the blocs together with Russia, because we could wait for money from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the next 10 years at least," the Interfax news agency quoted President Kuchma as saying.