Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 10, 1994 TAG: 9404100092
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Ukrainian officials agreed to work toward closing the two remaining reactors at Chernobyl as soon as possible, U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary William White said. No timetable was set, however.
"We need to try to make a plan to get them by next winter without this reactor," White told reporters on his return from a trip to Kiev, Ukraine.
Although crippled by the 1986 disaster and a fire in 1991, Chernobyl still supplies Ukraine with 7 percent of its energy, or about 1800 megawatts, White said.
The agreement signed by Ukraine Vice Prime Minister Valeriy Shmarov is the first written commitment to close the plant, White said. He said, however, that some factions in the government still believe the plant is needed for the harsh winters.
Ukraine has come under international pressure to shut down the plant because of safety concerns. The government had maintained it could not shut down the two reactors until a replacement was built.
"They've never before committed to shutting them down without having replacement nuclear power," said Kyle Simpson, White's executive assistant.
A U.S. delegation led by White toured Chernobyl, about 50 miles north of Kiev, on Friday. Chernobyl is "full of safety violations," White said afterward, echoing recent conclusions of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency.
"We would like to see it closed down immediately. Today," White said in Kiev.
He said Ukrainian officials assured him the plant would be shut "as soon as Ukraine's energy system is in balance."
Just when that might be was unclear, and, White said, Ukraine will need financial help from the international community for an alternative power source.
by CNB