Bechtel will send one employee from Hanford to the Ukraine. Awarding the contract has been delayed while liability concerns were worked out. However, the management team already has started work to award bids for some planning and design contracts. The initial contract is for the first two years of work, with completion of work estimated in 2006. Now, the sarcophagus has many cracks and holes in its walls and a roof that allows radioactive dust to escape.
Birds fly in and out, spreading more contamination.
Water from rain, snow and cleanup work not only causes structural corrosion, but also is turning some of the melted uranium fuel into radioactive dust. Monitoring has shown occasional increases in the neutron count rate, suggesting uncontrolled nuclear chain reactions might be taking place. The accident 12 years ago was the most serious in the history of nuclear power. Operators doing a test of the turbine generator system in the No. 4 reactor made mistakes which, exacerbated by Soviet design problems, created a tremendous surge in reactor power. The sudden release of energy ruptured the reactor's fuel rods and pressure tubes and produced a steam explosion that blasted the reactor core and its 2,000-ton shielding 45 feet into the air.