Minister O'Donnell pledges £1 million to help make Chernobyl reactor safe

"Making the Chernobyl shelter environmentally stable and safer will require the efforts of the entire international community."

Ms Liz O'Donnell, T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, has announced a special grant of over £1 million in 1997 to help prevent radiation escaping from the damaged nuclear plant at Chernobyl in the Ukraine. Minister O'Donnell said that this substantial national contribution to the Chernobyl Shelter Implementation Project, which is to be paid over immediately, is "a practical expression of the enormous public concern that exists here regarding the safety of nuclear reactors. This is additional to £800,000 which Ireland will contribute through EU structures." Ms O'Donnell said that Ireland has also pledged to make a further national contribution of about £800,000 to the project over the next few years.

"The 1986 disaster at Chernobyl's Unit 4 destroyed the reactor and left 190 tonnes of highly radioactive fuel in a twisted mass. Radioactive material affected Ukraine and its neighbours and many parts of Western Europe. The hazard posed by radiation from Chernobyl has not gone away. Neither does this hazard respect national boundaries. Transforming the remains of the world's worst nuclear accident into a stable structure is one of the largest engineering challenges of this century."

"During seven months in 1986, a massive 20-storey concrete and steel shelter was built over the destroyed reactor, the best that could be done at the time, given the intense heat and radiation. This structure has now developed cracks and holes and it is unstable. Recognising these risks, the G7 countries have established a fund to repair and seal up the stricken reactor."

"I am glad that we have been able to respond in this significant manner with an immediate national contribution of over £1 million on top of the approximately £800,000 we will contribute through the EU", Minister O'Donnell said. "Vice-President Al Gore and the President of the Ukraine have written to the Taoiseach inviting an Irish contribution. Our Ambassador in Washington will pledge the Irish contribution at a meeting today in New York."

"The Irish contribution will be used to make the reactor safe and environmentally stable for the long term."

Note for Editors:

Ireland's contribution of 1.5 million ecu, which amounts to £1.037 million, is part of an international fundraising effort designed to pay for the repair and reconstruction of the shelter encasing the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl. This shelter was constructed in the aftermath of the disaster at Chernobyl in 1986 and is intended to prevent the spread of deadly radiation from the Chernobyl plant. The existing shelter has deteriorated over the years and is now in need of urgent repair and reconstruction if it is to serve its purpose of preventing damage to the environment. The total estimated cost of this vital project is US$750 million.

At their Summit in Denver in June 1997, the G-7 countries committed themselves to providing $300 million to transform the existing shelter at Chernobyl into "a safe and environmentally stable system".

In addition to our special national contributions, which are being announced at a Pledging Conference chaired by US Vice-President Gore and President Kuchma of the Ukraine in New York today, Ireland is expected to pay in the region of £800,000 to the Chernobyl fund through the EU. This represents Ireland's share of the 100 million ecu being pledged by the European Union.Top