Some people always get upset with the "doom and gloom" people who talk about all the bad things that could happen on account of y2k. Trouble with the electric power grid is always the number one issue. Having that thing break down would be no fun. But, even worse than that would be having it break down because the computer systems in a few nuclear power plants got out of whack and made them overheat, and blow their tops. That happened in the late-1980s in Ukraine. You remember it. There was a 60-Minutes update on that area last Wednesday night. The area and the people's lives around that plant are a nightmare: Lots of cancer, lots of second generation birth defects, lots of very scared people.

These two news summaries from the people at New Heaven New Earth do a good job of pointing out the very real concern about the reliability of the systems in the nuclear power plants built by the former Soviet Union. The United states is about to spend 1.5 BILLION dollars to try to help them see it that they'll be able to just shut them off. Think about that for a second or two: $1.5 billion to try to see to it that an already devastated part of the world is able to turn its power supply off without causing an unprecendented catastrophe. If you don't think next year's going to be a little different, spend a few minutes thinking about what these two little summaries indicate.

Bill

U.S. TO CONTRIBUTE $1.5 BILLION TO RUSSIA'S AILING NUCLEAR INDUSTRY
(Sources: REUTERS, 4/22/1999; Eugenia Volynkina, NEWSBYTES, 4/28/1999)

The U.S. will contribute $1.5 billion to pay for programming to correct the millennium bug in computers that are used to operate Russia's, Armenia's, and Kazakhstan's nuclear and hazardous substance facilities. The INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL CENTER (ISTC), headquartered in Moscow, is administering the funds, which will be used for equipment, salaries for scientific and technical experts, as well as support of Y2K crisis centers and distribution of urgent information. The program was launched following consultation on the Year 2000 problem in the Russian MINISTRY OF NUCLEAR POWER, MINISTRY OF FUEL AND POWER, and MINISTRY OF EXTREME SITUATIONS, as well as a number of other national and international agencies. The ISTC has been accepting proposals and applications from scientific and technical teams in Russia and other countries. Preliminary decisions on funding for these programs are expected to be in mid-May. The U.S. is considering providing batteries and generators to Russian-designed nuclear power plants to ensure safe shut down in the event of a Y2K-related emergency, according to John Koskinen, Chairman of the COUNCIL ON YEAR 2000 CONVERSION. "The preliminary information we have is that...those plants cannot have a significant Y2K risk," Koskinen said. "The Year 2000 risk is in the grid." Nuclear power plants need a continued source of electrical power to safely shut down. There are 65 Russian-designed plants running in nine countries. (JG)

Link: http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/1999042205.html

Link: http://www.cnnfn.com/digitaljam/newsbytes/129861.html

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CHERNOBYL OFFICIAL ACKNOWLEDGES Y2K ISSUES
(Source: Reuters, 4/23/1999)

Earlier this year, Ukrainian nuclear officials indicated that Y2K would not affect the ex-Soviet state's nuclear plants because of their unsophisticated computer equipment. Now, Yury Neretin, Deputy Chief Engineer at Chernobyl, site of the world's worst civil nuclear disaster, admits that this earlier assessment was incorrect. Y2K concerns in secondary computer systems at the Chernobyl nuclear plant have been discovered. "We understand the importance of this problem and have to say that it will affect our station." Neretin also says the problem could threaten only computer programs not linked directly with the electricity production or operating a nuclear reactor, with the assurance, "We have already started working on this problem and are sure that Chernobyl will be ready to come into the Year 2000." Thirteen years ago, Chernobyl exploded, spewing a cloud of poisonous radioactive dust over Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and part of Western Europe. (JG)

Link: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/tc/story.html?s=v/nm/19990423/tc/yk_nuclear_ukraine_1.html

-- Bill (billdale@lakesnet.net), May 02, 1999

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