Source: BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union - Economic

Publication date: Feb 12, 2000

Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS

Kiev, 10th February: After scheduled repair and preventive maintenance works at the first power unit of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant in Ukraine, the unit cannot be restarted forabsence of nuclear fuel. The problem was discussed at a sessionof the Ukrainian government devoted to the repayment of backwages to the workers of the nuclear power plants.Director-general of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power station DankoBilei was speaking on the issue.

The first power unit was to be restarted on 7th April, after ithad been stopped in January for scheduled repair and preventive maintenance works. According to the work schedule, the fuel should be delivered on 7th March. To pay for the fuel, the plant needs extra R26m (4.7m dollars). At the same time, on 26th February, power unit 6 of the same plant will be stopped for preventive maintenance.

"The power plant also needs 5m dollars to buy safety equipment,"Bilei reported.

At present, there are five of the total six power-generating units operating at the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya.

Publication date: Feb 12, 2000 ) 2000, NewsReal, Inc.

Link:

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-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 13, 2000

Answers

Thanks Carl! Link

-- Henry Howfambofergilfer (howfambofergilfer@hotmail.com), February 14, 2000.

They're in real trouble (outside of this particulat problem!) if they only now found out they have no money to pay for new fuel......

...safety issues, care and attention to the routine details of the operation of the power plant, regular maintenance, all the little things that assure that a plant runs properly tend to be the first things lost when such fundemental issues as plannning to pay for regular refuelings are "forgtten" or "not enough money" strikes.....it means there are likely dozens (hundreds?) of unseen bigger problems likely to have happened, but are not apparent from the utside.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), February 14, 2000.