May 13, 1998

BATTELLE PART OF INTERNATIONAL TEAM SELECTED FOR CHERNOBYL SHELTER WORK

Battelle is part of an international team that has been awarded a $20 million management contract for safety improvements to the structure that encloses the remains of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4, the site of the 1986 Ukraine nuclear disaster.

The announcement was made today by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Teaming with Battelle will be Bechtel National Inc., and Electricité de France (EDF). The bank selected the Battelle-Bechtel-EDF team for the two-year contract.

Government officials from Ukraine and seven other countries, including the United States, who support a shelter improvement plan at the Chernobyl site, selected the bank to manage the project’s finances and hire a project management consultant. Eighteen countries have pledged $337 million toward the total $760 million cost for the shelter safety improvement work over the next eight years. Ukraine has committed $50 million over the life of the project.

The shelter was constructed partly on the remains of the ruined Unit 4 reactor building to halt the ongoing spread of contamination from the accident. Built in just seven months, and under difficult and hazardous conditions, the shelter is considered extremely unstable. Ukraine and international experts have proposed measures to prevent collapse of the shelter and safely contain the ruined reactor.

As project management consultant, the Battelle-Bechtel-EDF team will work with Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant management and staff to provide leadership on technical projects, operations and business programs, licensing and regulatory strategies. Each of the three companies has considerable experience working at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and has established a local presence in Slavutych and Kiev, Ukraine. They have experience managing and integrating work in Ukraine, have established effective working relationships with key entities involved in performing work on the shelter project, and have managed many other complex nuclear and high-visibility, multi-participant projects.

“Our team is extremely pleased to be selected for a job with such international significance,” said Dennis Kreid, manager of the Chernobyl Shelter Project for Battelle. “Through collaborative efforts, we’ll work to convert the existing shelter and the remnants of the destroyed reactor into a stable, confined and environmentally safe condition.”

Battelle, through the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a DOE lab in Richland, Wash., that is managed by Battelle, has worked with Ukrainian officials since 1996 to address immediate safety concerns at Chernobyl to prevent the potential collapse of the shelter. Battelle researchers worked with Ukrainian experts to examine the shelter and working conditions inside, and to identify the most pressing needs for equipment and worker protection.

Through Battelle, the United States is providing equipment and training in radiation-dose reduction, nuclear criticality monitoring, dust suppression, and industrial safety. Bechtel has worked with Battelle to perform projects designed to increase worker and environmental safety at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Bechtel also is performing missile site decommissioning and dismantling in Ukraine.

EDF’s experience in radiological work environments already has led to significant improvement in training programs for workers at Chernobyl. Through its work with German and French governments, EDF has been key to securing scientific cooperation among East European technical institutions.

Battelle, Bechtel, and EDF are mobilizing a core team with representatives from each of the three firms to Ukraine to establish an on-site project management base. Among the first activities to be performed will be awarding of contracts for projects beginning as early as May 1998. These early projects comprise the first phase of activities to stabilize the shelter, and involve completing the necessary engineering design studies for stabilization measures and for developing infrastructure at the site to support subsequent construction activities.