Ukraine says it will shut down Chornobyl plant by year's end (04/09/00)

Ukraine says it will shut down Chornobyl plant by year's end

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Vowing to fulfill the promises it made to the world back in 1995 and demanding that the United States and Europe fulfill their obligations as well, the Ukrainian government announced on March 29 that it will close the Chornobyl nuclear power plant by the end of the year.

That day the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution forming an ad hoc committee on closing the facility and giving its Ministry of Fuel and Energy three months to draw up specific plans for taking off-line the last operating reactor and mothballing the Chornobyl nuclear complex, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986.

The resolution states that within six months a parallel plan is to be developed for relocating employees of the nuclear facility and on the future of Slavutych, the city that was built to house Chornobyl workers.

But the key point of the resolution may be the statement that everything is dependent on talks with leaders of the G-7 industrialized nations and the European Community to assure that Ukraine receives adequate financing to help offset the costs of the project.

In a June 1995 memorandum of understanding signed with the G-7 in Denver, Ukraine agreed to shut down the Chornobyl plant in exchange for financial support for the closing and the development of alternate energy sources for the energy-poor country. Ukraine claims that since then it has received little support; only serious pressure to keep its end of the bargain.

"One of the main provisions of the resolution says that the Ukrainian delegation should begin work on reaching clear agreements on the volumes and terms of such funding," said First Vice Prime Minister of Energy Yulia Tymoshenko.

The specifics, as Ms. Tymoshenko delineated them, include agreement on the construction of alternate facilities and the settlement of social problems that will follow the closure of Chornobyl.

Thus far Ukraine and the West have had no luck finding common ground on the first issue. Kyiv has demanded that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development give Ukraine some $1 billion to complete construction of two reactors, one each at the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear complexes, which it says would offset the energy lost by Chornobyl's closure, but the EBRD, which has been tasked with determining just what Ukraine needs, has repeatedly delayed its support for the project.

The West has suggested additional gas turbine and hydroelectric energy-generating plants, which Ukraine believes would not adequately fulfill its needs.

During a visit to Kyiv on March 23, Charles Frank, first vice-president of the EBRD, told the Ukrainian government not to put too much hope on a decision to support the K2 and R4 reactors, as the additional units at Khmelnytskyi and Rivne are known, adding that such a decision is unrelated to the need to close Chornobyl.

He explained that the primary requirement for financing - a determination that the two reactors will prove profitable - has yet to be fulfilled. "Certainly there is no sense for us to invest in the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plants if there is no guarantee of a return of this money," said Mr. Frank.

Mr. Frank explained that, although the level of payments is beginning to rise in Ukraine, it still is not sufficient to offset the cost of running the reactors, and will only reach the appropriate level if the electricity-generating sector is completely privatized. He said that in the end, the EBRD is looking for "the least costs with the greatest efficiency."

The two sides can't seem to agree even on the cost of finishing the two reactors. The EBRD maintains that it would take an additional $1.72 billion to complete the projects, while the Ukrainian government says it could be done for around $600 million.

An EBRD report issued at the time of Mr. Frank's visit shows that safety is another major issue.

The report states that "the reactors K2 R4 are far below present safety standards and would not be allowed to operate in any Western country." It also criticizes Ukraine for refusing to upgrade the reactors until after the first three-year fuel cycle is completed.

To what extent Ukraine is ready to close Chornobyl without full financial support from the West is not clear, but the government is giving every indication that it feels the ultimate fate of the nuclear power plant lies with the G-7 and the European Union.

"It is not merely a question of us unilaterally shutting down the third power unit at Chornobyl and stopping there," said Natalia Zarudna, press spokesman for Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko. "We want all aspects of the closure, the technical, financial and social, to be settled," which she explained was envisaged in the 1995 memorandum of understanding.

There are some experts in the government, none of whom have been willing to go on the record, who state that all the problems presented by the closing of Chornobyl do not have to be addressed at the moment, because the plant can operate safely until at least 2004 with only minor upgrades and revampment.

Nonetheless, President Leonid Kuchma affirmed his support for the government plan when he signed the Cabinet resolution on March 30. He said that if all the problems can be resolved, Chornobyl will go off-line permanently "not later than December of the current year."

A crucial development for financial support for the closing will occur in May, when Ukraine, with the support of Germany, is planning a second donors' conference to be held in Berlin. A similar conference in November 1997 at the United Nations, co-chaired by President Kuchma and U.S. Vice-President Al Gore netted Ukraine about $35 million. At the G-7's June 1997 Denver summit of the member-states promised $300 million. In 1995 the G-7 originally pledged $3 billion to assist in the Chornobyl shutdown.

| Home Page |