this is why i maintain that while nuclear technology is a wonder to behold... when things go wrong they go very, very wrong.

the risks of using nuclear power plants far outweigh the benefits. why anyone would entertain the thought of allowing them to function during the y2k rollover is beyond my comprehension.

... reminds me of a nursery rhyme.

there was a little girl, who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead.

and when she was good, she was very, very good. but when she was bad she was horrid.

cute, when we are dealing with little girls but deadly, when we are dealing with nuclear power plants.

Robot Exploring Chernobyl Reactor By VIKTOR LUHOVYK Associated Press Writer

CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (AP) -- A small bulldozer-like machine is prowling among pieces of brick and metal in front of a huge concrete structure covering the destroyed reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

The machine, a mobile inspection robot, was developed in the United States especially to explore the debris inside Chernobyl's reactor No. 4, which exploded and caught fire in 1986 in the world's worst nuclear disaster.

On Thursday, designers of the robot -- called Pioneer -- presented it at Chernobyl, marking the start of tests to prepare the machine for entering the highly contaminated environment under the troubled reactor's shelter.

The concrete-and-steel sarcophagus was hastily buit over the ruined reactor soon after the 1986 accident to prevent further radioactive pollution by the remains of fuel that had been left over after the explosion.

Chernobyl officials have warned that the structure's supports could collapse unless urgent repairs were made, and said there was a possibility of a chain reaction and a danger of fire in the sarcaphagus, which contains several thousand *tons* of flammable materials.

However, through the years that have passed since the explosion, experts have faced serious difficulties determining what exactly was going on in the so-called shelter, since radiation levels in some areas inside were too high to allow people to walk in.

That prompted Chernobyl officials six years ago to think of developing a remotely operated robot that could be sent inside the sarcophagus and could survive extreme radiation exposure.

The Department of Energy and NASA offered their help, and said that parts of the new robot could be developed on the basis of the experience NASA gained in its Mars robot mission.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and RedZone Robotics Inc., both of Pittsburgh, and other U.S. agencies involved in the project, had to spend over a year and $2 million to develop a machine suited to crawl in metal and concrete debris and collect information about its surroundings.

On Thursday, they said the Pioneer was nearly ready to go inside the sarcaphagus. ``Pioneer will be able to operate in work environments with radiation fields many times the lethal dose for humans,'' said Deputy Secretary of Energy T.J. Glauthier, who attended a demonstration of the robot at Chernobyl.

Pioneer is equipped with tools that permit it to collect samples of material inside the shelter, develop radiological maps of its interior, as well as to move and clear rubble and create pathways for other machines to follow.

Chernobyl plant director Vitaliy Tovstonohov said Pioneer was a welcome addition to the plant's efforts to maintain the sarcaphagus, although it needed some minor upgrades before it could be sent inside the shelter.

``We've worked on this problem since 1993, and then the United States just presented us with their own know-how,'' he said. Experts estimate that repairs needed to minimize the sarcaphagus' hazard to the environment would cost more than $750 million.

Since 1997, about 20 donor nations have raised almost $400 million to start working on the facility, and several projects are under way.

AP-NY-05-28-99 0201EDT

... and when she was good she was very, very good. but when she was bad...

-- Anonymous, June 12, 1999

Answers

The nuke power plant question is got to be the toughest decision that the NRC will ever make.

My brothers and sisters live in the northeast so I sympathize about taking so much power away from them with the winter coming on.

On the other hand, marianne's post brings home the safety aspect loud and clear.

Even if there is one chance in a thousand that one of the nuke plants would fail or explode, the consequences are staggering.

We will have enough to worry about with the chemical plants. Where is Greenpeace when you need them ??

-- Anonymous, June 12, 1999

Where is Greenpeace when you need them ?? Good Question. Where IS Greenpeace with regards to y2k and the terrible enviromental disasters that could occur. Where are the Ralp Nadars? I agree, 100%, that the Nukes should be shut down for roll over. Then bring them up and on line one at a time. I would prefer cold to being radiated, any day! Since I live downwind from a plant, I would vote to shut them down. But I don't think its going to happen. Instead the powers to be will have all their fingers and toes crossed at roll over and more prayers will be issued that night than ever in history of mankind!! I think they will take the chance. They have not educated the people to prepare and what are the problems, so now they have to go with it and hope they succeed. Well...if they don't succeed it will be "those terrorists and hackers" that did it.

Taz

-- Anonymous, June 13, 1999