Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Congressional Hearings Transcript

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SAN 341 SENATE COMMITT-E ON F'-'fm;v A.ND NA'uRAi P.';in!j"r.rs GA Technologies Inc. PO BOX 85608 SAN DIEGO. CALIFORNIA 92138 (6191 455 3000 I GATechnologies July 2, 1986 JUL 7 198b LJlJlEIStbOTrE WASHINGTON, D C 20510 The Honorable James A. McClure Chairman Committee on Energy and Natural Resources U. S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator McClure: The enclosed material is respectfully submitted in response to your request of June 25, 1986. I appreciated the opportunity to appear before your Committee and am pleased to have this information made part of the hearing record. Enclosure R. A. Dean Senior Vice President Reactor Programs 10955 JOHN JAY HOPKINS DR , DIEGO. CAUFORNIA 92121
.. 342 Question 1 From what I understand, a Modular High Temperature Gas Reactor (MHTGR) contains neither zirconium fuel cladding nor water -- two of the major "players" that resulted in the formation of hydrogen and the subsequent hydrogen explosion that caused the sudden, massive release of radioactivity into the atmosphere at <strong>Chernobyl</strong>. So this kind of accident scenario is virtually impossible for an MHTGR. Am I correct? Answer Your understanding is correct. The Modular High Temperature Gas- Cooled Reactor (MHTGR) uses inert helium gas as a coolant so that no reaction or explosion can take place between the coolant and the fuel, fuel coating, or structural materials in the reactor system. Further, no zirconium is present in the system so that even in the rare circumstance where water would enter, no metal/water reaction would take place to result in the formation of hydrogen with a subsequent explosion. Although water may, under certain circumstances, react with the graphite in the core, the reaction is endothermic (absorbs heat) and therefore selflimiting so that the <strong>Chernobyl</strong> type scenario is virtually impossible. Question 2 Is there interest on the part of the utilities in buying an MHTGR, if they prove to perform as promised? Answer Historically, the electric utilities have supported the HTGR program since 1978 through Gas-Cooled Reactor Associates (GCRA), a utility user supported and managed organization. This group represents about a third of the nation's generating capacity. The specific design features of the MHTGR have been determined to meet performance, safety, and investment requirements established specifically by the GCRA utilities. Further, these utilities are currently leading development of a Project Plan, which calls for a significant investment from the private sector - primarily the utilities themselves, that would lead to the demonstration of the MHTGR concept and to its licensing certification for replication. These activities are based on the conviction that the concept when demonstrated will provide an advanced, second-generation nuclear plant for installation by utilities domestically, as well as outside of the United States. Question 3. Are DOE and EPRI participating with you and others in the development and prototype testing of the MHTGR reactor design? Please elaborate. What kind of funding would it take to fully design, build and test an MHTGR?
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CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR ACCIDENT DOCUMENT
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About BACM Research - PaperlessArch
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days, so they left nearly everythin
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The 1986 Report of the U.S. Departm
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S. Hrg. 99-869 THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDE
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COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RES
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BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY THE CHERNOBYL
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statement of Senator J. Bennett Joh
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We will contiue to work to make nuc
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. - the foreign reactor market that
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STATEMENT OF HON. HOWARD M. METZENB
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11 with the wrong report. He came u
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13 The residents of the state of Oh
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15 Yes, I am not satisfied with eve
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17 We accomplished our work by coll
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19 Senator Metzenbaum. Mr. Chairman
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21 The work of the Task Force was t
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23 On May 3 the State Department se
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25 The first elevated levels of rad
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27 8 Foreign data received suggeste
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29 By way of comparison, you might
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31 - 2 - around the world. In the i
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33 4 - In addition to these meeting
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35 - 6 radiological release mechani
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37 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHERNOBYL SIT
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40 SIX OPERATING PUMPS (8 PUMPS TOT
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42 .'ill a* O > S 2s5Sg sxs.f 2-53
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46 10 I. 3 c o u .>$ «o
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48 12 H
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50 14 SUPPRESSION POOL ARRANGEMENT
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52 16 SOURCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
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54 18 EXTRAPOLATION FACTORS (BACK T
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56 20 FUTURE PLANS PREPARE REPORT I
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58 The Department's Nuclear Safety
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60 STATEMENT OF MARY L. WALKEK ASSI
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62 to minimize and manage risks so
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64 Third, the United States nuclear
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66 The priority the Department plac
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68 of the reactor core melted. Unli
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70 Introduction As a member of the
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72 questions concerning fuel behavi
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74 While each of these areas are pa
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76 promises to be able to demonstra
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78 The Chairman. Thank you. Dr. Bun
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80 The most important actions we ca
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82 Nonetheless, I will try to recou
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84 I doubt If I can today convert e
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86 All of our eggs are In the baske
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88 8 safety margins and more fall -
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90 10 The existing emergency planni
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92 12 Further, If we want to ensure
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94 14 never survive the kind of pro
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96 firmed, but at least suspected t
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The Chairman. If we were to 98 have
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100 2 THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, MR
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102 THE SOVIET UNION ALSO AGREED TH
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104 6 MR. CHAIRMAN, IT WILL DO US L
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106 12 tific developments. includin
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108 14 The participating States a^^
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no speculation in the press that it
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112 than the Soviet Union. They hav
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114 We find that as a glimmer that
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116 Mr. Denton. I don't have that a
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118 My next question is what is the
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120 Mr. Meyers. These are the Easte
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122 Los Anpeles Times, 5/22/86 Radi
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124 us trig au m ifistead of a u to
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126 have it go through a peer revie
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128 Mr. Meyers. Mr. Chairman, may I
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130 -2- The health assessment subgr
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— 132 and ask my questions. If he
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134 Mr. Denton. I do not think they
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136 Senator Melcher. To clarify you
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^ 138 human error then, leading to
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140 are 25 BWR units with Mark I co
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142 engineering safeguards for ther
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144 STATEMENT SUBMITTED FOR THE REC
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146 2 - Process Heat for the chemic
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. 148 - ^ THE HEAT IS TRANSPORTED B
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150 Senator Domenici. Mr. Taylor, w
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152 Of that, over the many, many ye
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154 statement to Senate Committee o
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. 156 have become vital and continu
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158 NRC and our industry to produce
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s" 160 on the facts and to ensure t
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. 162 the fuel elements and light w
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164 generations of RBMK designs to
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166 • Third, the design appears t
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168 and ramifications of flow and h
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— 170 Senator Domenici. Thank you
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172 Soon we will have seen a fivefo
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174 Testimony to the Energy and Nat
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176 o The June 1986 folder entitled
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178 Corporate Evaluations Evaluatio
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180 EVENT ANALYSIS AND INFORMATION
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182 accessible from remote terminal
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184 o INPO has also developed good
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186 Members of the full Board are l
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. 188 NATIONAL ACADEMY FOR NUCLEAR
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" 190 o In May and June of 1985, th
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192 identified during INPO evaluati
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194 increased awareness at all leve
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196 o Collective radiation exposure
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198 Establishment of these long-ter
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200 Senator Domenici. Thank you, ve
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202 STATEMENT SUBMITTED FOR THE REC
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. 204 -2- capacity, and has long be
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206 • 4- Temperature Stability Th
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208 In addition. It also appears th
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210 Senator Domenici. Thank you. Dr
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212 The billions of dollars per yea
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214 As a nuclear physicist who has
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216 industry and strong reaction fr
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218 -5- Nevertheless, despite our o
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220 Citizen groups are going to int
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] 222 -9- Footnotes and References
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224 THE BULLETIN OF THE ATOMIC SCIE
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226 clear power plants since 1975
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228 Jan Beyea, a physicist, is a se
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230 ... a filtered vent system coul
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232 It is possible that it will tak
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234 Senator Domenici. I appreciate
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APPENDIX Responses to Additional Co
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. . 239 A2 . As noted above, we wou
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241 QUESTION 1. Some people have sa
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243 QUESnON_l. (Continued) 3 - For
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245 QUESTION C.tt . What do we know
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247
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: 249 -S-Vi9S>-ftv\.S>6)N^>^ -^'S^V
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251 QUESTION 2. (Continued) - 2 - P
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253 fiU E S no N_2 . (Continued) -
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255 QUESTION 3 . Just to set the re
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257 QUESTION 5. If you were to choo
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259 2UEST|0N_5. (Continued; 3 - Fir
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261 SMilII2!!_Z- ^° "^ "°" ^^^^ ^
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263 SMilllO^l-^- You attended the I
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I A 265 QU E ST 1 N_ 1 , year ago,
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267 QUESTION 10. (Continued) 3 - in
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269 QUESTION 10. (Continued) - 5 Wi
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271 QUESTION 10. (Continued) - 7 su
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I 273 QUESTION 10. (Continued) - 9
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: i 275 QUESTION 11. (Continued) -
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277 QUESTION 12. (Continued) - 2 -
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279 QUESTION 1 2. (Continued) - 4 -
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281 UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATOR
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283 g U E S T 1 N 13. What are the
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I 285 POST-HEARING QUESTIONS AND AN
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287 2 maintained current. Computer
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289 QUESTIONS FROM CHAIRMAN JAMES A
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Page 312 and 313: 297 -2- Answer 7 (continued): posse
Page 314 and 315: 299 -2- Answer 8 (continued): The S
Page 316 and 317: 301 -2- Answer 9 (continued): The f
Page 318 and 319: 303 Answer 10 j. -- xu (continued):
Page 320 and 321: 305 nUESTION FROM CHAIRMAN JAMES A.
Page 322 and 323: 307 QUESTION FROM CHAIRMAN JAMES A.
Page 324 and 325: 309 Answer 14 (continued); 2. Early
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Page 328 and 329: 313 -2- Answer 16 (continued): Desi
Page 330 and 331: 315 -2- Answer 17 (continued): forc
Page 332 and 333: 317 POST-HEARING QUESTIONS AND ANSW
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Page 336 and 337: 321 Question 3: Has the DOE designe
Page 338 and 339: , 323 JAMU A. WeCLUW. OAHO. CHAMHAN
Page 340 and 341: PROF. DR. RUDOLF SCHULTEN Direklor
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Page 352 and 353: 337 INPO RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS BY
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Page 376 and 377: With growing urgency, the Ukrainian
Page 378 and 379: We did check soil samples and radia
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Page 390 and 391: 21 down on the kind of horizontal p
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Page 394 and 395: 25 Well, in the May 1992 issue of t
Page 396 and 397: 27 people just haven't complained a
Page 398 and 399: 29 — physicians that come in. Bec
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37 the training of the operators, e
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39 issue. The directions that the w
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41 Further, there is no easy way of
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43 I thank you for your attention.
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45 • WERs that have not been turn
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47 thank you for convening this hea
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I am am 49 INTRODUCTION My name is
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1 . 51 The Ukrainian Ministry of He
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53 information on the actual doses
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55 First, it is well known that wit
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57 1) The U.S. Government should in
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59 Level of malignant tumors of Lym
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61 Level of Malignant Diseases amon
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63 The Level of non-malignant hemat
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65 The Children of Chornobyl Relief
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2 67 TB8TIMOHT Of rr«d K, MattlMT,
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pnxlucing ihere 69 Pan H 4. Public
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• , t ( (iiiiiii i M 71 P«n H ev
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73 TESTIMONY OF WLADIMIR WERTELECKY
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. 75 education. The same comprehens
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77 Should epidemics and other medic
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. 79 Massive psychological effects
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81 American-Ukrainian Medical Scien
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83 circumstances in Ukraine, there
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85 flep:acaBHa AyMa yKpaiHM Kojieri
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I I 87 C.KHOliA (DMKl'AHUI Mxl'AIlK
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89 MiHiCTepCTBO OXOpOKH 3flopoB'a P
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. 91 m XAPKIBCbKA OBflACHA AEP>«AB
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93 U.S. Senate Committee on Environ
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95 What Happened The Chernobyl acci
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97 -? 15 U) (0 < Figure 1. Estimate
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99 form lava.' This material ran th
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101 V) S O aċo V) (A « aQ. 3 W f
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103 Unit 4 of ChernoSvt A'PP after
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105 3 O) (0 £ Q. O o
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107 •M E Mr -n. 136 \sss .4U>-^
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109 Natural processas of decay have
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Ill Clean up actions should be take
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113 those involved in 1986 and part
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115 Prepared Statement of Murray Fe
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117 with those who are classified a
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119 economies. Economic chaos and h
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121 Table 1.—Operating Reactors i
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123 FORMULA FOR FUNDING American as
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125 their transition to a new forms
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127 Table 1.—Cost Estimate—Cont
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129 Nuclear Materlai;s Management U
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131 Weeks Seven and Eight—Prelimi
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133 Four sets dictation and transcr
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. Develop 135 Ukrainian entrepreneu
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137 be achieved during the first ph
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139 tion measures. As required, the
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141 and services. The laboratory wi
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143 The reactor vessel, primary shi
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145 • fixation, • restrictions
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147 environmental compartment to an
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149 In order to plan for and accomp
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151 4.1.2.2 Ground Water Contaminat
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— 153 should provide direction on
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— 155 relative sensitivity of the
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. . and . . they 157 ( Prepared Sta
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. . and 159 generator. The result i
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161 5 mln hectares of agricultural
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' 163 Not only Ukraine, but the who
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165 taking forceful steps to help c
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167 late seventies." ^° Although t
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169 actors; this information gap ma
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171 To encourage this implementatio
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173 production is solid fuels, eith
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175 the energy efficiency of the ec
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177 ' Because closing costs will in
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. May BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY ..Hopki
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BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 9999 U^/ 0275
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. 'HE LEGACY OF CHORNOBYL 1986 TO 1
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COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERAT
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THE LEGACY OF CHORNOBYI^1986 TO 199
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— The Helsinki Commission is very
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and its Belarus but any single coun
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Over 10 years after the events, I c
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Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Mr.
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— 11 If you look at standardized
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13 births. We find it difficult to
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15 leagues have made a long-term co
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17 7's commitment? Of the assistanc
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19 burg is not too far. Greographic
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21 Mr. Smith. Dr. Feshbach, can you
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23 One of the problems with the Int
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25 Mr. KuzMA. There's quite a large
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— 27 bombardment of low-level rad
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29 are proposals that Kyiv be procl
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31 good people there, everywhere, a
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33 Only one percent of the territor
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35 an extent possible the consequen
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37 up of the Consequences of the Ac
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39 Ukrainian people realized that t
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41 presses the brake pedal to slow
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43 The "Sarcophagus" facility was t
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45 8 Rivers and lakes in the vicini
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47 10 According to maximum estimati
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49 12 Immediately after the acciden
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51 14 experienced radiation doses t
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53 16 ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES Over th
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55 18 LEGISLATION ON CHORNOBYL The
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57 20 children affected by the Cher
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59 22 - ensuring proper infrastruct
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61 24 private religious, non-profit
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63 26 environmental effects of radi
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65 STATEMENT BY ALEXANDER B. KUZMA
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67 uncontaminated. Two weeks ago, a
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69 towards other health concerns ex
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71 the enoimity of the task that li
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73 Testimony of Dt. Natalia Lakiza-
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75 About 5 mln people continue to l
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77 Changes in the childbearing func
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79 - a possible many-fold increase
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This is a U.S. Government publicati
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