AOTHER disaster in Chernobyl could
well be in the making, warn Western
and Russian scientists. A report funded
by the European Commission, and
flashed by The Observer, a UK daily, says
that the pillars supporting the reactor
building and the 2,000-tonne roof are in
danger of collapsing. This could send up
a giant plume of radioactive dust.
Fearing atmospheric contamination
over Europe, the West is anxious to shut
down the Ukraine-based plant immediately. But Ukraine has refused to oblige, unless it gets adequate financial aid
and expertise to build a safer alternative.
Meanwhile, the World Health
Organization says that since the 1986
accident, there has been a 100-fold
increase in thyroid cancer in children in
the Chernobyl -affected regions of
Belarus and the Ukraine.
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