Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant CIA Files - Paperless Archives
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant CIA Files - Paperless Archives
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant CIA Files - Paperless Archives
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steam that disrupicd la·rge ponio:ls of the corc. Sonic<br />
of the shallcred core matenal was propelled throu~h<br />
the roof cf the reac·to·r building. '<br />
The hot core matcrialthat was released st:.ncc\ about<br />
30 separate lires in the unit 4 reactor ha!1 and turbine<br />
building. as well as on the ·roof of the adjoininc unit J:<br />
All but Ihe main fire in ihe graphile moderalor<br />
malerialstill insideunit 4 wcrc e:O:linguished i~ a fe,,·<br />
hours by Ihe heroic efforts or lircfichlers. The graph·<br />
ite lire continued to burn for nearly Iwo weeks·<br />
carrying radioaeth'ity high inlo Ihe atmosphereuntil<br />
it was smothered by sand, lead. dolomite. and<br />
boron dropped from helicopters. (<br />
Unit 3 was shut dOI\'" four hour~ after the oemuction<br />
of unit 4. Units I and 2. located sel'eral hundred<br />
meters from unit 4. continued producing electricity<br />
for 24 hours after the accident. The SOI'iets rcponed<br />
considerable radioactive contamin:l!ion cf units I. 2.<br />
and 3.1·<br />
ElectrIcity Losses and Increased Fuel Use<br />
For five months following the destruction of the<br />
<strong>Chernobyl</strong>'-4 reactor. thc plant's three surviving reac·<br />
tors were idled. This loss of generating capacityroughly<br />
10 percent of the lotal in Ihe Ukraine-would<br />
have led, if uncompensated, 10 an average monthly<br />
deficil in e1ectrieilY production of 2.4 hill ion kilowatl·<br />
hours (kWh). But. during Ihe summer lull in electricity<br />
demand. the Soviets were in a favorablq>osition to<br />
offset much of this rotential deficit by stcppin2 up<br />
electricity production from power plants burning fossil<br />
fuels. Beginning in September, however. the sea·<br />
sonal upsurge in demand for electricity probably<br />
eliminated most of the painless adjustment mccha·<br />
ni~ms.J I<br />
change t·o night shift w~rk·t~ reduce dayi"inlc electric-<br />
. ily dem:lnd.Thc;c ~.teps were :llikel)~ preparation for<br />
copincwilh the prospecti·\·c short:cc of e1ectricilY,<br />
sin" th,- SOl"ielS were only able 10 restore two rcactors<br />
at <strong>Chernobyl</strong>" 10 partial sen'icc by the oll~et of winter.<br />
The clTee! or. tota! fuel dellland of the cffort 10 offset<br />
<strong>Chernobyl</strong>"-induc.ed electricity losses .appears 10 ha\'c<br />
been minor. GiI'cn the fuel-usc capabilily o(lhe<br />
replacement pl:ints. Ihe SO\'icts wcrc probJbh: using<br />
an cxtra 45.000 barrels per day (bId) of oil. 229 .<br />
million cubic metcrs per month cf natural cas. nnd<br />
400.000 tons per month of coal' Durin!: the livemonth<br />
period when the <strong>Chernobyl</strong>' planl produced no<br />
electricity. the n~tion\l'jde demand for fuel oil increased<br />
I to 2 percenl. natural gas usc erew 0.2<br />
percent. and coal use rose by 0.3 percent.<br />
In addition to the power losses at Cherncbyl" the<br />
SO\'icts arc expecting cuts in output during 1987 at<br />
the four other nuclear power plants opera tine RBMK<br />
(Chcrnobrl"-type) reactors. C<br />
.:J fixes to impro\'e safety will reduce power<br />
output at these piants by about 10 percent. or nearly<br />
10 billion kWh. in 1987. SovietC ::lt13\'e not<br />
indicated whether this is a one-time loss in power<br />
generation due to· temporary downtime or a derating<br />
of the capacity of these reactors~<br />
Returning tht Chernoby(' Planllo S~n·ic.<br />
As soon as the Chernoby\' accident was under control.<br />
Moscow began promoting a rapid recov(ry of powergenerating<br />
capability at the idle plant. evincing concern<br />
for longer term considerations affecting the<br />
nuclear power program as well as for the immediate<br />
c.\igcncics:<br />
The Ukr~ine experienced electricity problems cvcn<br />
during the summer lull in demand. Ukrainian pa rtr<br />
chief Vladimir Sheherbitskiy. in a July speech. called<br />
for additional ener2Y consen'ation measures. and<br />
Ukrainian Council of Minislers chairman Aleksandr<br />
Lyashko noted tha t some enterprises needed to<br />
r ..,<br />
, Moscow desired to spare the economy the degree of<br />
eleclricity shortfall that would come in winter unless<br />
much of the Chcrnobyl" capacity was returned to<br />
service.<br />
. The lotll monthly fuel bill \\"l.l nClrl)- 100.000 tons or sundud<br />
(ucl. ,\ unil of suod:ud (uel conuins the cnCflY cquh"':llcnt of 7.000<br />
k.iloc.llorio per kilotrJm. or 12,600 BlUSrcr pound.~<br />
..J<br />
~euct