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In other news . . .
Ukraine to shut one Chernobyl reactor next month
October 28, 1996
Web posted at: 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT)KIEV, Ukraine (CNN) -- Ukraine said Monday it would shut down one of two reactors still producing electricity at the Chernobyl nuclear plant on November 30, a timetable that reverses an earlier prediction but falls in line with a previous financial arrangement with the West.
Two weeks ago, Environment and Nuclear Safety Minister Yuri Kostenko said stopping Reactor One as planned could make the plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear accident, more prone to problems. The reason for his reversal was not immediately clear.
Chernobyl's fourth reactor exploded in 1986, sending a radioactive cloud across much of Europe. It is now encased in a cracking concrete "sarcophagus." A second reactor was closed after a fire in 1991. The two remaining reactors supply some 5 percent of Ukraine's electricity. Ukraine has agreed to close the plant by 2000 in return for $3 billion in grants and funding from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related story:
- Chernobyl dome needs repairs - Sepember 17, 1996
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