World Donors Agree to Fund New Chornobyl Shelter

KYIV, Ukraine, July 14, 2011 -

The Nuclear Safety Account and the Chornobyl Shelter Fund
donors agreed to provide the necessary financial resources
for the implementation of the Chornobyl projects. The decision
was made at the Assembly of Contributors to the Chornobyl Shelter
Fund meeting on July 7, 2011, in London. The new construction will
help neutralize any possible future threats to the environment from
the Chornobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine.

While reporting about the results of the donors meeting to the
President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Ukraine Kostyantyn Gryshchenko stated that the issue of
raising funds for the Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP) is finally
resolved.

The needed amount of financial resources for SIP funding is EUR
740 mln. On the 25^th anniversary of the Chornobyl
tragedy on April 26, 2011, a fundraiser was held resulting in
donors’ obligations of EUR 550 mln.

The new decision of the world donors allows for the immediate
start of the SIP execution and its completion by 2015. The SIP
involves stabilization of the existing sarcophagus and the
construction of a New Safe Confinement (NSC) for the damaged
nuclear reactor.

Earlier, the Director of the Nuclear Safety Department of the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Vincent
Novak said that, in order to meet the schedule for the NSC
construction, it is important to begin metal constructions assembly
by autumn for them to be ready for installation on the site by next
spring.

In 1988 local scientists announced that the life time of the
sarcophagus was 20 to 30 years. The Chornobyl Shelter Fund (CSF)
was established nearly a decade later in December of 1997 to
collect funds for the NSC project. Currently, the European Union,
the United States, and Ukraine cooperate to help meet the CSF’s
objective while the EBRD is entrusted to manage the CSF and provide
oversight of the funds disbursement.

The construction of the original Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant
sarcophagus began on May 20, 1986 - three weeks after the accident,
and lasted for 206 days. Over 400 thousand m³ of
concrete and 7300 tons of metal framework were used to lock in 16
tons of uranium and plutonium, 200 tons of radioactive corium, and
30 tons of contaminated dust.

For more information, contact Maria Ivanova +380443324784 news at wnu-ukraine.com, Project Manager at Worldwide News Ukraine