Cork charity voices fears over Chernobyl project and suspends cardiac surgery programme due to crisis

Chernobyl children campaigner Adi Roche has warned that political turmoil in Ukraine is jeopardising the safety of the damaged nuclear reactor which she said was “a ticking time bomb”.

Chernobyl was the scene of the world’s worst nuclear accident when its reactor began to leak in April 1986.

Work on a huge containment shield has been continuing with a scheduled completion date of October 2015, but the turbulent political situation between Ukraine and Russia has threatened progress.

Chernobyl Children International has been working with people in the area and Ms Roche, its CEO, warned that countries funding the project — including Ireland — needed to be aware of the difficulties caused to the project by the tense situation.

A temporary shield or sarcophagus was constructed at the reactor to prevent any further leakage and this has deteriorated, meaning a new shield is required.

Ms Roche said: “What can never be forgotten is that the destruction caused by the deadly explosion at Reactor No 4 at Chernobyl was triggered by the release of just 3% of the radioactive material in the plant. The remaining 97% of this enormous ticking time bomb of highly unstable nuclear material is still inside the crumbling Chernobyl complex.”

Work on the new Safe Confinement Structure began in 2010 with an estimated cost of €2.1bn, with Ireland contributing €8m to the fund.

Due to the growing crisis in the region Russia appears to have dropped its pledge to the G8 to lead fundraising for the project, while a leading Ukrainian politician, Valerii Kalchenko, has said the future of the project is uncertain and that completion could be delayed by up to two years.

Ms Roche said: “Such uncertainty over where the money will come from to finish the task of completing the new sarcophagus and making the world a safer place is extremely worrying, coming as it does on the 28th anniversary of the Chernobyl explosion.”

The Ukrainian crisis has already affected Chernobyl Children International’s work on the ground, with the suspension of a €3m cardiac surgery programme in the town of Kharkiv.

That programme has been running for a decade and the Cork-based charity has given almost €100m in medical and humanitarian aid to the Chernobyl region.

chernobyl-ireland.com