Commissioner Van den Broeck told MEPs, some 11 years after the Chernobyl disaster, that the state of the plant is still giving cause for concern. It is due to be closed by the end of the century, with energy supplies coming from two new power stations.
There is now a real risk of plutonium dust escaping from the sarcophagus covering the damaged reactor, with a resultant threat to the local population. Another concern expressed by Gordon Adam (UK, PES) was that the replacement power stations would not be built to the highest safety standards required in the West.
Commissioner van den Broek told MEPs that the international community had so far spent some US $1 billion on Chernobyl and on developing alternative energy supplies. He also announced a US $100 million aid programme specifically for the purpose of replacing the sarcophogus, and confirmed that it was still the intention to close the plant by the year 2000. The decision as to how to replace the reactor in the most economical and safety-conscious way was beset by difficulties in obtaining accurate forecasts of future energy needs in the Ukraine.